A Bang or a Hush?
by Lilac19822
Summary: Something about his fellow, blonde-haired Akatsuki member just didn't sit right with the stoic, introspective Uchiha. Whether it was Deidara's flashy ways, cocky smile or explosive personality that got under his skin, Itachi wasn't sure. But there undeniably was something about the artist that drove him simply crazy. ItaXDei. Yaoi, smut, BDSM, whatever else pops into my head.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I don't know where this story came from. Just something rolling around in my head, and I needed to write it, just to get it out of my system. It is quite different from my usual stuff. Of course, the characters are slightly OOC. I don't think there is a single thing in the anime that could even slightly indicate Itachi and Deidara are into each other (and I'm pretty sure Deidara actually has a vendetta against Itachi), but I couldn't help myself. **

**Maybe I wrote this just because I think both are hot ... for anime drawings. That's probably it. Itachi in particular is completely wonderful, so he'll probably show up elsewhere in another fanfic at some point. But he's getting hooked up with Dei first.**

**There eventually will be smut, slight BDSM (I'll warn if a chapter gets particularly spicy), man-on-man action, and other such stuff. As I've oft heard/read, if you are offended for some reason by these things, don't bother to read or comment, or at least know you were warned :) :)**

**Also, I've seen Deidara's habit of ending his sentences is non-verbal sounds (?) written as un, hm, yeah, etc. I decided to go with "hm." That made the most sense to me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

XXXX

Itachi wasn't sure what he thought of that blonde terrorist bomber. Something about him just didn't sit right with the tall, ebony-haired Uchiha. Maybe it was the artist's flashy ways, or the fact that he was almost three years less in age, or his constant babbling, or his cockiness. Itachi couldn't quite put his finger on it.

But ever since he, Sasori, and Kisame had travelled to retrieve the missing-nin from Iwagakure and get him to join the Akatsuki, Itachi felt himself constantly feeling uncomfortable around those bright azure blue eyes, always intense and emotional, always observant.

Deidara, on the other hand, had quickly gotten over his initial dislike of the former Leaf ninja (or at least so it seemed). After a few days of adjusting to the ways of the criminal organization, he had found random times to pop up and make small talk with the quiet, raven-haired young man.

Like today, for instance...

"Itachi!"

His coal-black eyes closed in aggravation, but he turned to look at the source of the voice, feeling his heart beat a bit faster when he caught sight of that obnoxious face, decorated in a smirk, with the yellow bangs sweeping in front of playful blue eyes.

"What are you doing, hm?" Deidara came closer. His Akatsuki robe was unbuttoned all the way in front, and Itachi caught sight of a thin strip of pale skin above his pants that wasn't quite covered by his short, black shirt.

"I was just going out to train." Itachi tried to keep the sentence curt and unemotional, hoping the energetic artist would pick up the hint that he wasn't looking for company.

"Oh, yeah? Care if I join, hm?"

Apparently he wasn't only brash and overly friendly, but also dense. Itachi's mouth didn't move. He simply didn't want Deidara around. Going out on mission after mission provided little to no time for solitude and training, and the introspective, withdrawn Uchiha hated the idea of wasting these precious moments by having the explosive little showoff around.

"Well..." he started, the word dwindling as he didn't know what else to say.

Deidara didn't seem the bit deterred, looking as nonchalant and relaxed as ever.

"Come on, Itachi! Your genjutsu against my art. It'll be good practice, hm! C'mon! You know it'll be a good time." He looked so energetic and enthusiastic and Itachi was having a hard time saying no, actually.

Tired of waiting on the raven, the blonde 18-year-old crossed his arms across his chest impatiently and just kept talking.

"Uchiha, I've been wanting a rematch with you for months now. You can't deny me that chance, hm. Or are you just afraid to lose to me? Is that it?"

Wow, the kid was just a glutton for punishment, and an irritating one at that ... although there was something fetching about the way his attractive face was set in defiance while still remaining undaunted.

Itachi's brows drew together at the thought that had just wafted through his mind. Where did that come from? He did not like the blonde teenager at all. That was just a fact. The little nuisance drove him crazy! But he wouldn't let the brassy little showoff ruffle his feathers or have the chance to tease him.

"Fine," Itachi said with an unemotional sigh, continuing on with his way down to a secluded, barren clearing amongst the jagged rocks that surrounded the Akatsuki's hideout, where both his and Deidara's two-man cells were on hiatus for a day or two, awaiting further orders.

Deidara simply grinned and quickly caught up with the black-haired young man, excitement bubbling beneath his skin, his hands itching to reach for some clay, his body filled with the energy and willpower to take down Itachi.

Itachi decided to only perform at about 30 percent capacity of his true capability, knowing anything else could get one of them seriously injured. He assumed Deidara would do the same. Although, he couldn't express how much he'd love to just go all out. Something about the blonde's constant cheeriness and sassy personality made Itachi just want to take him down a notch.

Once in position, the two talented shinobi wasted no time in engaging in their "friendly" rumble. Already, the training ground was spotted with the smoky remains of small explosions and Itachi's sharingan was activated.

Back and forth the two fought, their movements and attacks almost perfectly equivalent in skill and speed. Black and blonde flashes shown out as the two S-ranked criminals engaged at their pre-determined max.

Although Deidara was a good few inches shorter than Itachi, both were slender with a disguised strength that wouldn't be obvious to the naked eye, and the height difference barely mattered as Itachi relied little on physical attacks and Deidara was best when fighting long-distance.

Crash for crash, hit for hit, ocular jutsu for explosive jutstu, the two young men, the raven and the artist, continued driving toward the pinnacle of the fight, or an inevitable intersection when their skills would go directly head to head to be tested in comparison.

It was taking some time as both had achieved mental and physical elitism as ninjas long ago, and the sun had almost disappeared behind a ragged black strip of distant mountains by the time they were getting dangerously close to a harmful collision.

However, Itachi simply was more skilled and powerful than the blonde teenager, and he had Deidara caught into his final genjutsu, the finale, before the feisty bomber could do the same to him.

And that was that.

Itachi, only slightly exhausted, smirked in satisfaction. Thinking back to their first fight, which was an actual clash and had led to Deidara having to join the Akatsuki, he could only imagine how poorly the sensitive artist likely would handle his current defeat.

This fight ended much the way that original one did. Knowing he couldn't go any further without injuring the blonde, Itachi waited a few seconds to drive home the "win" and then simply released the genjutsu and let Deidara fall to the dusty ground.

One arm resting on the seam of his black coat and the other dangling down leisurely, Itachi coolly waited for the little bombshell to rush at him in a fit of rage.

After a few seconds, though, he noticed Deidara's slight figure was slow in standing back up and his right hand was tangled into his blonde locks and holding his head.

For a split second, Itachi felt a small prick of alarm, and in yet another nontraditional move, he hurried over to make sure the bomber was okay.

When he got over to Deidara, he was taken aback. Itachi had expected a temper tantrum or quiet sulking, but got neither. Deidara, having stood to his feet, simply laughed and brushed himself off.

Was there a term for when someone was predictably unpredictable? That was Deidara in a nutshell, one hundred percent erratic. Even to Itachi, a certified genius who was surprised by very little, the slender artist was just downright confusing ... maybe that's why he didn't like him.

"That was a good trick, Itachi," Deidara admitted with a grin, not even trying to mask that his competitive jealousy made the defeat bitter, nor the fact he was more than a little impressed by Itachi. "Didn't see it coming, hm. I must admit, there's something particularly beautiful about your power. ... But it's not impermeable, believe me, hm."

The blonde's eyes were bright with excitement and staring in admiration at the raven. For Itachi, this reaction and the cocky bastard's words were even more confusing and annoying ... especially because, to be honest, they actually were kind of cute, and Itachi didn't ... DIDN'T ... want to have a soft spot for any Akatsuki member. Least of all the explosive artist.

"Thanks." That was all he felt appropriate saying. He was starting to feel uncomfortable again. He just had to get alone now. He thought about simply walking away but the blonde was shifting on his feet and looking at the Uchiha expectantly.

"I have something to do," Itachi forced out. "I need to get going."

The blonde didn't try to hide his disappointment. "Oh. Okay. Well, thanks for the practice, Itachi. And I _will_ get you back, hm. You need to be prepared... I have some plans and a few ideas up my sleeve, and when I'm finished with my brilliant creative process, you will need to beware, hm."

Deidara finished his proclamation with a playful wink. Itachi merely shook his head, trying to repress the small smile playing on his lips.

_"What the hell is wrong with me?_" He wondered, quickly turning away, unwilling whatsoever to lead the blonde artist into believing they were remotely close to any definition of "friends." However, after taking a few steps, he couldn't stop the urge to turn back around for a second and wave goodbye to Deidara.

To his surprise, the teenager was intently watching him leave and his face broke into a smile when the Uchiha lifted his hand. Deidara returned the gesture before turning back to a practice dummy situated on the other side of the now broken and bruised field. His body became taut and engaged as he sent a clay bird zipping out to meet it.

Within a few seconds, a large explosion had painted the sky with bright orange flames and permeated the training ground with plumes of grey smoke.

Itachi rolled his eyes, but he had to admit that _maybe, just maybe, _the pesky blonde teenager was not _absolutely_, _completely _annoying ... at least not in small doses.


	2. Chapter 2

**I've been bored at work lately, which is why I'm writing more. And I'm trying the whole "shorter chapters" thing. I figure it might be easier for people to digest.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

XXX

"What's with that grin on your face?" Deidara jumped slightly. He had been lost in his thoughts, his fingers digging into the moist clay in the pouch on his hip without molding it into anything in particular - he just liked to keep his hands moving in time to his thoughts. His eyes had been focused on a random crack on the wall as he zoned out. He didn't realize he was smiling in any particular way and he certainly wasn't going to tell his wooden, redheaded partner what ... or who ... was on his mind.

"It's nothing, hm," He quickly retorted. It was his secret and he would be too embarrassed to divulge it with anyone. Especially the stuffy, conventional puppet master. "What's up, Sasori no Danna?"

"We have a mission, remember? And we were to leave an hour ago," Sasori said pointedly.

Deidara glanced up at a clock on the wall and noticed that it was, in fact, later than the time Sasori had explicitly told him to meet him. "_Shit._"

"Oh, man, I'm sorry!" Deidara knew he was going to be scolded for the first few hours of their journey no matter how much he tried to apologize, but he figured it couldn't hurt, right? Might mitigate the impact.

"I hate waiting," Sasori responded coolly.

Deidara tried not to roll his eyes. If he had a ryo for every time he heard that ...

Still, he did hate disappointing Sasori. He really liked and respected his wooden partner, although he fundamentally disagreed with his ideologies. "I'm sorry, hm! It's not too bad. ...Only an hour. Could've been worse, right?" Probably wasn't the best approach, but whatever. Deidara was used to being in this position with his master.

Sasori sighed grumpily. "I swear, Deidara, one of these days..."

Deidara just laughed as they headed out. They were on their way now, right? He wasn't one to dwell on something that he couldn't change. You just had to live in the moment. What's done is done.

But he knew the old-fashioned Sasori didn't feel that way, so the blonde teenager always made a good show of acting like he cared about some of the things he did, like being on time.

"C'mon, Sasori, hm. I said I'm sorry. And I'll never be late again! Let's talk about the mission now instead, hm."

Sasori shook his head at the artist's nonchalant behavior and the apology he used so much that it had lost its genuineness. Ignoring Deidara's request, Sasori began lecturing the teenager on why it was important to be on time, how it showed dishonor and disrespect to be late, it made one seem arrogant and selfish, and on and on.

Deidara wanted to interject on several occasions, but he decided to shut his mouth. If it had been anyone else, he would've said something witty and impudent by now. But he knew if he tried that approach with Sasori, the older partner, who knew how much Deidara despised being bored, would probably just start talking about the origin of clocks: why they were made, how they were made, where they were made, the man who made them, and what was his background again? Oh yes, this could go on forever.

Besides, although Deidara rarely went out of his way to dislike people, there were only two people in his life that actively liked. And one of them was Sasori, for sure.

And the other ... Deidara tried not to blush.

Even if Sasori was busy talking about "other types of common courtesies someone as young, hotheaded, and erratic as you has no respect for," Deidara was pretty sure he would notice if the blonde's cheeks turned crimson for no good reason.

Although it wasn't no good reason, really. Any time an image of that "other" person - with his slender, gorgeous body, his piercing eyes that sometimes were deep red when activated but usually as dark and pure as onyx, and his thick black hair tied back in a messy ponytail - popped into Deidara's head, he felt an automatic physical reaction: heart beating faster, a smile working to creep onto his face and ... you know... maybe other stuff, too.

What was his favorite part of the silent genius? Now, that was a fun game and could keep the bomber entertained for hours.

Maybe if he could just manage to keep his face still and unemotional, he could silently, secretly indulge on thoughts and images of Itachi Uchiha while his Danna continued his severe speech, which now was heading into a lengthy segment about how the position of the sun is a good way to tell time if you are nowhere near a clock...

XXX

It had only been a day since Sasori and his imp of a partner had returned from Getsugakure when Itachi was instructed by Kisame that Leader needed to speak with him about something.

"What is this about?" Itachi quietly asked the shark ninja, moving with his typical controlled agility as he stood up and fixed his coat.

"How should I know?" Kisame drawled. "All I was told was that he had a request of you for some mission."

"Well, that's something," Itachi muttered coolly. "He didn't give you any instructions for a mission for you and I?"

"Nope." Kisame plopped down into a chair and stretched his arms. "And I'm not complaining. Leader is planning something big and it's going to be a bitch, so I'm content with laying low for a day or two. Getting some rest and only doing easy missions for awhile like destroying smaller villages and the likes."

"Hn," Itachi took his time walking to the meeting room to converse with a projection of the Leader, who was currently still in the Hidden Rain Village.

Itachi supposed Kisame was right. The temporary façade of tranquility was nice, although the current arrangement was unfortunately making him have to spend more time with Sasori and Deidara than he normally did when he and Kisame were on the move.

Deidara ...

Itachi shut the door behind him, hoping to completely shut out any mental image of the unruly teenager, as well.

However, that hope was short lived when the Akatsuki leader, or a diluted mirage of him, slowly materialized and then promptly told Itachi that he needed one of his two-man groups to go to Kirigakure to take out a small group of ninjas that were in the process of plans to "try and destroy the Akatsuki."

"I'm not too concerned," The voice was thick and dull, the curious purple Rinnegan staring forward at the Uchiha without ever blinking. "There's only about ten dozen or so of them. Which is why I'm only sending two members. You and Deidara ..."

Something akin to anxiety, anticipation, or disappointment, he wasn't sure which, swept over the Sharingan user.

"What about Kisame? He's from that village. And, regardless, why do I have to go with _him_?" Itachi asked, his eyes unwavering and his voice as even as the one that had issued the directive. A thousand objections to this arrangement were fighting for attention in Itachi's mind, but he knew there wasn't a chance in the world he would ever lessen his stoicism enough to mutter even one.

"Because," the Leader answered, "Sasori is recovering from some casualties from their mission to Getsugakure, and I need this done now. Might as well get it over with. Even if their mission likely will be useless and pathetic, it could be a hindrance that gets in the way later on. It's an easy mission. You all will be back in no time. And I think you and Deidara will be more suitable to get it done quickly and effectively as long-range fighters."

"Hn, very well," was all the Uchiha said. He wasn't one to whine or protest, and he definitely would not try to fight the Leader. Besides, he already had been given more of an explanation than would have been afforded any other member, as Itachi was a favorite.

He left to find his new temporary (hopefully only three-day) partner. Hearing a loud explosion out back, he knew that was his best bet to find the little blonde nuisance.

Sure enough, he was out there, his hair flying wildly about his face, his azure eyes on fire, a huge, cocky smile painted on his face, his slight body tense and still caught in the stance he used for his jutsu with his muscular arms outstretched. The sunshine hit his hair perfectly, endowing it with a bit of its own golden glow.

Itachi shook his head, trying to get his mind off of that and get it back focused on their impending mission.

"Hey ... you," Itachi called out.

Deidara spun around at the sound. He looked so excited, almost giddy.

"Did you see that, Itachi?! Did you, hm? What a masterpiece! For one minute, a solitary minute, absolute perfection was captured! Beautiful, hm!"

Itachi knew Deidara could go on, and on, and on about his art if he wasn't stopped early, so Itachi gently interrupted.

"Yeah, beautiful," he said quickly and dismissively. "We have a mission. Come on."

Deidara grabbed his coat, which was lying sloppily in the gravel collecting dust, and slipped into it as he hurried over to Itachi.

"We have a mission, hm?" He asked, blue eyes locked on Itachi's face even as the Uchiha turned to lead the way. Deidara quickly got his steps in time with the other young man's. "What about Sasori no Danna, hm?"

Itachi looked quizzically at the teenager, his refined black brows drawn over dark, pensive eyes. "Leader said he's recovering from injuries. He's your partner. I thought you'd know that."

For a mere instant the natural playfulness and mischievous smirk were wiped off Deidara's face and he looked legitimately concerned.

"I knew he was hurt, hm. But it's Sasori. I didn't expect the injuries would linger this long. Damnit."

Itachi was honestly shocked to discover that Deidara had the capability to be serious and subdued. It was a nice discovery, but unfortunately, made the blonde seem more real and less like a caricature, which in turn made Itachi feel an emotion he had tried not to for a while: compassion.

"I'm sure he'll be alright, Deidara." It was the first time Itachi had used the teenager's name in a one-on-one conversation. "Sasori is an S-ranked criminal and he's more wood than man. I'm sure injuries for him simply mean he has to fix his puppets or something." It was the nonsensical dribble friends give each other when they want to offer support but, in all actuality, have no sort of logical justification to turn their sentiment into facts. And it was odd for Itachi to hear himself speak like this after so long.

But when he saw the shadows over the blonde's blue eyes lift a little and his face break into a smile, Itachi remembered how much he liked it - true camaraderie.

"Yeah, you're probably right, hm. Thanks, Itachi. Well, what about Kisame? Why isn't he going with you?"

"You think I asked Leader all these questions? How should I know?"

"Ah, well, so much for the Uchiha's renowned intelligence and insight, hm. You're supposed to be like a fucking master when it comes to figuring things out and stuff, right? Better watch it, Itachi. Your reputation will be tainted if you keep this up, hm."

Itachi felt his temper flare slightly and he glared down at Deidara, who merely grinned in return to let Itachi know he only was teasing. The smile helped a little, but still ... the squirt was asking for it.

Itachi's fingers were itching to shove the blonde artist roughly, but playfully, just as something inside of him was awakening and making him wish that he could let his guard down and be as easygoing and fun-loving as Deidara, if only for a few moments.

But no one ever saw Itachi mess around or be light-hearted. It wasn't in his nature ... at least not anymore, as years of living as a secret criminal - disconnected from a life he had known and loved - had hardened him to that sort of nonsense.

Nothing could change that for Itachi.

"_Nothing_," He repeated mentally again and again, trying to ignore the blonde and the odd, annoying feelings he was inducing in the normally detached young man. Nope, not even those sky blue eyes looking up at him with mockery as well as an underlying shine that showed the mockery was delivered in good fun, or the somewhat mischievous, yet precious face through which they peered at the dark, guarded Uchiha. Or the adorable way in which he had to walk quicker to keep up with Itachi.

The raven determined right then and there that none of that did, could, or would ever matter to him.


	3. Chapter 3

XXX

Although the two rogue ninjas hadn't fought together much at all, the mission was a raging, albeit easy success. It went off without a hitch ... almost.

There had only been about 68 members in the Hidden Mist Village group that was working on plans to hunt down and destroy the Akatsuki. And Deidara and Itachi had been given good intel on them that helped them construct a flawless plan before even arriving at the covert group's secret meeting spot.

The problem arose when Deidara, for some fucking reason Itachi was wracking his brain to figure out, had impulsively dodged in front of a shuriken that was directed toward Itachi, despite the fact that the intelligent Uchiha had seen it coming without breaking a sweat and already was in position to dodge it.

The unexpected action of his younger, blonde "partner" threw off Itachi more than anything else had up to that point, and he almost failed to see another opponent coming out at him from underground for a surprise attack. Of course, he didn't fail. Because he was Itachi. And he would be damned before he let some random nobody inflict so much as a scratch on him. But it didn't help to settle his nerves that had been ignited by the erratic bomber's actions.

And yes, even when Deidara placed the final, perfectly targeted blow to wipe out the remaining handful of Kirigakure nins, it didn't quell his irritation, but only made it become an awkward mixture with his gratitude.

They finished the task and wiped their hands of it just as a thunderstorm came rolling in.

"Let's find a place to get out the rain," Itachi said flatly, refusing to look at Deidara and walking a few feet ahead of him.

Once safely hidden inside a large cave that kept them dry from the onslaught coming from the rolling, angry grey clouds in the sky, Itachi turned to his younger partner, stifling any sort of gratitude he felt and letting out his pent up vexation.

He didn't know why he was so perturbed. It wasn't like him. He usually would just ignore these things or deal passively with them if he was forced to. But something about the situation had him riled up.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Itachi said as he gruffly grabbed the blonde's shoulder and glared into his eyes. His words lashed out like a stinging whip. "Why would you do that? Idiot."

Deidara grimaced and it was then that Itachi first saw the patch of scarlet on the right side of the artist's chest. Always aiming for bravado, however, the blonde tried to smile cheekily through his pain and build himself back up with an easy flow of words, although it was clear he was in physical pain and also stung by Itachi's words and caustic tone.

"I'm sorry, hm! But we completed the mission and both are basically fine, so I don't think there's much to complain about, Itachi! Damn. You sure are being ridiculous. It could've been-"

"Stop talking, Deidara," Itachi sighed, gingerly grabbing his partner's arm and leading him further into the cave. With an unknown origin and nothing to keep it going, Itachi's anger slowly dissipated. "Sit down."

Much to the raven's surprise, the teenager shut his mouth and complied.

"I shouldn't have been so harsh. I was just on edge." That was kind of an apology, right? Itachi was out of practice, so it would have to suffice. "Now, take off your shirt and I'll clean that up."

Deidara was still looking like he had hurt feelings - his soft lips set in a pout at what he thought was an unjust response from the raven. Yet, he wasn't going to disobey. Secretly, he kind of wanted the tall, black-haired young man to take care of him. It was a nice thought.

Whimpering slightly with pain, he first removed his Akatsuki cloak, then slipped his thin hands under his shirt and peeled it off, getting rid of his mesh undershirt immediately after.

Itachi wasn't sure why, but when he caught sight of Deidara's defined chest and pale chiseled abs, his mouth got a little dry. He reached into the pouch setting on his well-formed hips and pulled out a tiny bottle of creamy ointment and some bandages.

"Hold still. It's going to hurt," Itachi said, placing a warm hand on the blonde's firm chest and pushing him gently so he would rest against the cold stone wall. "So just relax and hold still."

Itachi squeezed a small dab of the salve onto his long fingers and pressed them against the bleeding gash on the bomber's shoulder. Deidara let out a hiss and then clamped down on his bottom lip with his teeth.

Itachi tried to ignore the small reaction and his partner's big blue eyes, which currently were filled with agony, and just kept going, rubbing his fingers in concentric circles around the wound and paying no mind the pressure he was using.

"Ouch! Careful, hm!" Deidara cried out with a yelp.

Itachi finally widened his view so he could take in the whole sight: Deidara, who already was a few inches shorter than Itachi, looked even more small and pathetic with the blood rushing out of his shoulder. His eyes were large and watery, threatening to spill over. His bottom lip was quivering and his cheeks were flushed. His luscious blonde hair hung to his shoulders in wet clumps.

"It hurts, Itachi. Be careful!"

Unexpectedly, Itachi felt a surge of sympathy and protectiveness for the blonde teenager, whose lithe, but muscular form was shivering from being shirtless in the cool, damp evening air. The Uchiha's black eyes softened.

"Sorry," Itachi said, trying to make his voice and movements more gentle as he continued tending to the cut. "I will be more careful. Just hold still, and I'll be finished in a second, Dei!"

Deidara's head shot up at him in shock, his eyes no longer reflecting the pain from his injury, but instead cloaked in pleasure and ... something else.

"What did you call me, hm?"

Itachi blushed. It had felt natural in the moment to be more affectionate toward the artist, but now he felt unsure. It didn't help that the feel of Deidara's wet skin beneath his fingertips was a bit ... electrifying.

"Sorry, I didn't think -" "No, no!" Deidara shouted quickly, smiling up at the black-haired young man. "I liked it, hm! It just surprised me is all." He shrugged. "You're usually so cold toward me. I didn't expect that. ... it was nice. You can call me that any time you want to, hm." Itachi didn't respond but kept his eyes glued to the blonde's beautiful face as it traveled an unexpected journey from being open and happy to slightly confused and sad as he cast it down.

"... Why is that, Itachi?" He asked after a few minutes of heavy silence.

"Why is what?" Itachi was legitimately confused, not only by Deidara's question but in general by the bomber's constantly moving emotions.

"Why are you usually so cold to me? I mean, I get that you act that way toward everyone, hm. ... But ... It's just ... I don't know. You were the one who dragged me out of my undercover studio and made me join the Akatsuki. You know, I was doing great before you all came along, hm: commissions coming constantly, getting to make a bang with my art every week. ... So I just don't get why you hate me so much."

Itachi softened even more, so much so that he even felt a small surge of regret. He thought for a moment about all the things he could say, all the short, cool retorts he could offer about how Deidara was making a much bigger bang now that he was with the Akatsuki, or how Itachi had won their fight fair and square. But for some reason, all he wanted in that moment was to comfort the blonde and draw a little closer to him.

"I don't hate you, Dei," he said softly, knowing in that instant that it was absolutely true. He continued to move his hands to rub ointment on the wound and then tenderly bandage it with clean white strips of cloth. "I really don't... promise ..."

Deidara glanced up, surprised at this rare break in Itachi's cold exterior that showed a glimpse into his more sensitive side. However, for once, the artist decided not to speak and to just let the handsome Uchiha ... whose breathtaking masterpiece of a face was so very close to his own ... continue saying what he wanted to. Being too boisterous right now would definitely break the mood, Deidara decided.

Itachi slowly grazed his fingers over the bandage to make sure it was safely in place and Deidara had to use all his willpower not to shiver at the touch. His heart fell when the raven, having finished his task, drew back from him.

However, instead of pulling away completely, as Deidara would have expected him to, Itachi situated himself so he was sitting right next to the blonde, his longer right leg almost touching Deidara's shorter left one.

The raven let out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry if I've been harsh, Deidara," he said. "I just usually have a lot on my mind, and I like staying focused on the task at hand. I'm used to putting missions before people or relationships. I like to think I can get on without friends or things like that. An s-ranked criminal such as yourself has to understand that friendships have more potential to get in the way than to be helpful."

Deidara nodded thoughtfully, still too scared to speak or show too much of his pent up admiration for the Uchiha lest it should spook him.

"I'd rather just get people out of my way, you know?" Itachi continued, keeping his eyes straight ahead, too scared to look into the intense blue pools staring at him lest he should reveal too much. "But I don't hate you."

"It's okay," Deidara finally ventured after the Uchiha had fallen silent for a minute or so. "I understand. And I have to admit, I didn't care for you too much at first, hm. You can be a bit of a cocky bastard, you know?"

He was trying to lighten the mood and hoped desperately that it wouldn't backfire. He was rewarded by Itachi's enticing mouth breaking into a soft smile. Fuck, he was even more beautiful when he smiled.

"Oh yeah?" Itachi asked, building up his self control and finally turning his onyx eyes toward his temporary partner's deep blue ones. "What changed your mind?"

"_You stole my heart,"_ Deidara answered silently while saying out loud, trying to sound careless and lighthearted, "Well, you know, I realized you weren't all that bad. You're also a fucking good shinobi ... and, as much as I hate to admit it, your ocular jutsu is a beautiful work of art in its own right, hm. Although it is a bit damn boring, Uchiha. You should work on making it a bit more ... mindblowing, you know?"

Itachi had to let out a short, shocked laugh, although Deidara still was forcefully wiggling into his heart. "I can promise you, Dei. My ocular jutsu does nothing _but_ blow my enemies' minds! That's its whole point. My genjutsu fucks with people's brains."

Deidara felt his heart thumping with joy that he was finally getting to see a side of Itachi that he previously had only had hopes actually existed. He laughed appreciatively as he shrugged again, not even noticing the pain it caused for him to moved his recently injured shoulder. "Fair enough. You're right about that, hm. I guess you would say that's the one thing it's good for. But you can always take it to the next level, hm?"

"Well, I'll tell you what, Deidara," Itachi smiled mischievously. "In exchange for that brilliant piece of advise, I'll try to be a little less standoffish and less of a bastard, okay?"

Deidara couldn't keep his face from being consumed with pleasure as he grinned widely and answered, "Deal."


	4. Chapter 4

XXXX

Itachi and Deidara had returned from their mission a week ago and had fallen into a steady pattern of at least greeting each other in passing, and even stopping to talk for a few minutes sometimes, although those conversations generally were initiated by Deidara.

Both two-men groups - Itachi and Kisame and Sasori and Deidara - were constantly on the move, doing smaller, guerrilla-type missions that were being performed in the interim before the Akatsuki Leader revealed his next move to get them closer to their goal of world domination. However, once those short missions were completed, all four would return to the southern hideout to lay low.

It was the pre-storm stage, where tiny rumbles or quick, staccato cracks of thunder would snap and pop in sky, announcing the arrival of a tempest but in such a way that the direction from which it as coming, its life-source, was unknown to the waiting, anxious world.

Itachi and Kisame had returned to the shabby, run-down building late the previous night.

Physically and mentally worn out, Itachi had decided to let his body rest, sleeping in so late that morning was bidding its final adieu before he sauntered down to the criminals' make-shift kitchen for a drink of water.

At the table sat Sasori, his wavy red head bent over as he worked mechanically and effortlessly on a new part for one of his puppets.

Itachi began to fill a cracked cup with swirling, clear water from the faucet. It didn't cross his mind to say anything to the former Sand nin - this sort of interaction, or lack therefore to be more appropriate, was normal. Often the Akatsuki members would simply move around each other. It was basically an unspoken agreement.

However, as Itachi stood, looking out the window at the beautiful blue sky and thinking about how nice it would be to go enjoy it, the redhead broke the hallmark silence.

"Deidara was looking for you," Sasori said without looking up from what he was doing. His hands continued to move fast and efficiently, never wavering for a second as they completed their task with unbelievable skill.

"Oh yeah? Where is he?" Itachi asked, mirroring the puppet master's cool tone and manner.

"How should I know? He's a difficult one to keep track of. Always rampaging."

Itachi figured he had drained all the help he could out of the redhead and was about to leave, when Sasori finally lifted his eyes to observe the Uchiha. Itachi was sure he could sense suspicion permeating from the ninja.

"I thought you weren't friends. But he's been in an awfully good mood lately. And now he's actively trying to find you and talking about you constantly. Any connection?"

Itachi froze at the taciturn redhead's subtle suggestion, and then felt his body flooded with a strange warmth. However, his face didn't reflect his shock when he turned back.

"I'm doubtful there is," he said, keeping his voice flat. "He's your partner. You have him figured out better than I do."

Sasori didn't say anything verbally but continued to stare at the raven-haired 20-year-old with a look that said it all.

Unsure what to do with the odd response of excitement, curiosity and anxiety that he was experiencing, Itachi simply raised one arched eyebrow placidly and then left to go find the blonde teenager.

'_What could Sasori have meant_?" Itachi wondered to himself. He figured he had a good idea, but the exact parameters of the puppet master's pointed insinuation were difficult to pinpoint, and the brilliant raven wasn't sure he trusted himself to delve into thinking of all the possibilities.

Instead he busied himself trying to find the blonde scamp to find out what he wanted.

It was too quiet outside. The explosive artist definitely couldn't be out there. Itachi figured his bedroom might be another good bet.

He walked through the winding, vacant hallways and toward a light coming from Deidara's room.

When he got to the door he found himself having to push down a strange pulse of excitement that was beating beneath his pale skin before pushing open the door.  
However, it was futile, for the sight that caught his eyes sent a hot flush to his cheeks ... why, he didn't know.

Deidara was looking for something in his dresser and so his small, slim body was bent over. His long, thick hair hung down like a shimmering gold drape.

He was wearing only loose black pants that fell to the middle of his shins. His creamy chest and chiseled stomach were bare, his arms catching the light in such a way that the toned muscles were _very_ defined.  
Itachi swallowed.  
He mapped the contours of Dei's arched back, trailing his eyes down ... down ... until they caught sight of the blonde's muscular and perky ass, thrust out perfectly in his current position.  
Itachi couldn't peel his eyes away as he used the rest of Deidara's naked body to try to finish removing that last article of clothing in his mind ... he could only imagine how firm and round those fine cheeks were ...

"Itachi?!"

The raven's head jerked up, or rather over, to meet Deidara's confused gaze.

"Did you hear what I said, hm?"

Itachi tried to keep his voice dull. "No."

Deidara humphed, rolled his eyes, and stood up. He was holding a black shirt which he began to slip over his lean, but strong and beautiful form.  
Itachi felt an odd pang of regret at having to see the blonde's flat chest and muscular abs covered up.

He tried to settle back down, not sure what he was feeling, or why he was feeling it. The blonde was bratty and obnoxious, and his damn sexy body didn't change any of that.

"I said I'm starving," Deidara said, his voice laced with a hint of aggravation, as he pulled on his black sandals, "and I asked if you wanted to go get something to eat with me!"

Itachi waited for the surge of distaste for the bomber to hit him, but it never came. He actually felt no negative feelings about the prospect of hanging out with him, and maybe ... could he actually be pleased about the thought?

He had been silently thinking for a few seconds when he sensed that the blonde was fidgeting, and looked at him once again.

Indeed, Deidara was shifting on his feet, his eyebrows still raised in question, and impatience in his eyes.

"Well, you don't have to if you don't want to! It was just an idea, hm."

Itachi wanted to laugh as embarrassment and annoyance mingled over Deidara's face.

"Calm down," Itachi said coolly."You don't always have to be so explosive, you know."

Deidara was about to get insulted and shoot back one of his usual retorts, but then he caught a not oft-seen glint of mirth in the raven's obsidian eyes and he broke into a smile ... and damn, that was a winning smile, Itachi couldn't help but notice.

"Whatever, loser! My explosion is my beauty. It's what makes me as awesome as I am. ... So ... Does that mean you're coming?"

Itachi shrugged, disappointed that he had to take his eyes off Deidara's adorable face for fear that keeping them there much longer would be way too inappropriate.

"I could eat," he said shortly.

"Good! Come on!"

Immediately, Deidara had bounced over to where Itachi stood in the doorway and started off down the hall without a second glance back, fully relying on Itachi's acquiescence and never doubting him for a minute.

"_He's so cute,_" Itachi was shocked to find himself thinking as he fell in step with the bomber.

Just as they were about to head out, Deidara stopped and turned to him, though.

"Hey! You should take off your coat. It makes us too conspicuous, hm. Which I'm usually all for. But it'd be nice to go out without being noticed ...just this once, hm."

"Fine," Itachi rolled his eyes, although he did agree with the artist's logic. With quick, smooth motions he removed his thick coat only to find Deidara's eyes widen a bit.

"Nice body, Itachi," Deidara said with relish, a smirk plastered on his face. "You should go without your coat more often, hm. Although, regardless, I'm sure someone like you can never go out in public without being noticed."

The words struck the Uchiha with a gooey flow of pleasure that made his heart start beating faster. However, not knowing whether Deidara was seriously giving him a compliment or only trying to mess with his mind, Itachi merely shook his head in response.

"You're ridiculous, Dei."  
As they walked down the dusty path to a small village about an hour away, Itachi enjoyed the feeling of a delicate breeze that was causing his loose bangs to dance across his face. The sun shone done, emitting just the right degree of warmth.

It was incredibly enjoyable, almost addictive for Itachi. He knew he had to be careful allowing himself to luxuriate in the tranquil environment too much. Otherwise it could breed a sort of sullen discontent with his unfortunate life, and he didn't want that.

He excelled at taking responsibility for the choices he made, for the value system he endorsed, and for the behavior he had adopted in response to having to deal with those things.

He knew that he, and he alone, was responsible for putting certain things, the most significant things, over others, and he usually didn't regret that. ... But for the peace-loving Uchiha, days like this one, walking side by side with the somewhat ravishing blonde's beautiful laughter hitting his ear, heading out to do something completely unrelated to the Akatsuki's dirty work, and Mother Nature showing no prejudice for the things he had done as she proudly displayed her masterpiece for him ... well, suffice it to say it was bittersweet. It made him yearn, and Itachi didn't want to yearn. He didn't want to feel at all.

Inside a tiny, clean stall in the marketplace, Deidara and Itachi sat next to each other, Deidara's flowing blonde tresses contrasting perfectly with Itachi's confined raven hair.

"Now, you actually have to eat something, Itachi, hm!" Deidara said.

"What makes you think I wouldn't actually eat?"

"I don't know," the blonde shrugged. "I just never see you do, hm. Sometimes you seem far removed from the physical world and I wonder if you actually eat or sleep or, damn, can be hurt in any fucking way. You're constantly in your own world and it's hard to know if you're even real, hm."

It was the first time Itachi had heard his personality described that way. It made him laugh, because in was so incredibly on point and completely off point all at the same time.

"Well, I promise you, Deidara, I do eat. And I sleep. And I can be hurt."

Deidara gave him a look that clearly said, "yeah, right." "C'mon Itachi, be serious. You? Hurt, hm? Maybe physically ... maybe? But emotionally? I highly doubt that."

"Don't judge me by your own standards," Itachi said with a teasing sneer. "I'm just not a sensitive, emotional little wuss like you, Dei."

"Hey! You said you were going to stop being a bastard, hm!" Deidara said, reaching back to yank Itachi's dark ponytail playfully.

Anyone else and Itachi simply would have slapped away his hand. But Deidara's charm was infectious, and Itachi couldn't help simply smirking and then pulling the blonde's own ponytail as revenge.

"Ouch! You're rougher than I was, Uchiha!" The teenager laughed. "And I'm not emotional ... I'm artistic and empathetic, hm. I've just had some shitty things happen that have taught me the beauty of a single moment, of truly experiencing that moment, hm. Otherwise, you get so careful and closed in that tragedies might not affect you that much, but nothing wonderful ever will either."

"What happened?" Itachi asked, very much curious and wanting to go even deeper into getting to know and understand Deidara.

"You serious? You want to hear the story? It's long, hm."  
Itachi shrugged. "Yeah, I really would. We've got time, right?"  
"Well, okay. Sure. So let's see," Deidara said, his head cocked to the side as he worked to retrieve all his memories. "Well, my mom was killed right after I was born, blown to pieces by a bomb in the Third Shinobi World War. Obviously I don't remember that happening, but I poignantly remember the aftermath, hm. I remember each night that I tossed and turned, wishing I could have met her, cursing the Five Great Countries and their mindless war that took her from me. I remember in great detail every single fucking tear I cried. It wasn't just that I missed her, hm. It's that I knew I had missed out on getting to meet one of the best people ever. And that sucks, hm. And then I learned that I possessed the explosion release kekkei genkai ... fucking ironic, huh?"  
Itachi could feel himself getting increasingly more sad as he watched Deidara's face become etched in cynicism and pain. The raven was shocked at the openness being displayed by the blonde, but he appreciated it, and he wanted to be able to offer at least some small bit of solace. Deidara took a deep breath and continued.  
"So, I decided to take that and turn it into something beautiful instead of something painful, hm. I stole a kinjutsu, passed down through Iwagakure shinobi, that let me put my chakra into clay. Then, when I was 12, my father and older brothers both were executed by Tsuchikage ... I to this day have no fucking idea why, hm. But I saw it happen. I saw the village members chant obscenities, I heard as the Tsuchikage and his council members defame and blast the three men I loved the most, hm. ... before killing them in public."

The words were coming out slower and slower and Itachi could hear that they were heavy with the artist's need to cry. A single crystal tear trickled from his watery blue eyes down his cheek but he merely swallowed hard and kept talking.

"I hated everything about my village after that, hm. I found the Isshun no Geijutsu and was thrilled. It was exactly what I was looking for, hm. I used it to decimate as much of Iwagakure as I could, as many buildings as possible, before defecting from the village and going into hiding. After that point there was nothing to care about except achieving the highest goals possible with my art ... perfecting it, making it so powerful, almost supernatural, hm. Every time someone commissioned me to ... do a work of art, if you will ... I savored the opportunity, hm. It was practice. It's hard to care about the people who die ... who has a reason for killing anyone anyway, huh? Certainly my parents and brothers didn't deserve to die, but they did anyway, hm. But my art ... It's perfect. It's beautiful. It's displayed in a minute, a minute that forever is mine and no one can take away from me. ... And _that_, Itachi, is why I try to live life to the fullest, hm ... damn, that sounds cliche as shit. But still ... you get it."

Deidara had wiped away the tears from his face and was once again flashing Itachi his bright, beautiful smile.

The raven smiled back, although he was sure the smile was tinged with the pain he felt for what the blonde artist had been through. Itachi's heart fell. He knew he had fundamentally misunderstood the terrorist bomber and he couldn't help scolding himself for that fact, for judging Deidara so harshly.

"I'm sorry about all that, Dei. That all really sucks."

Deidara shrugged, biting down one of the steaming dumplings that had been put before the two.

"It's okay, Itachi. I didn't tell you all that to make you feel bad for me, hm. Hell no. I just ... wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know," He gave the raven a teasing grin. "Maybe now you know why I am so awesome, and why my art is magnificent. You could learn a thing or two from me, Itachi-kun."

Itachi couldn't disagree with that. Slowly perusing Deidara from top to bottom while the artist continued eating, stopping now and again to say something, Itachi became quite positive he could learn something very important from the artist - something about being more open, more relaxed and more spontaneous.

He would like that. That wasn't to say the impudent, crazy little teenager couldn't learn a thing or two from the collected, mature Uchiha, as well, but there was definitely something to be said for the enthusiasm and open arms with which Deidara consumed the world and all his life experiences.

The blonde was so open, so excited, always ready for the next adventure. Itachi could see himself being dragged into random, crazy experiences if he were to get extremely close to Deidara. But he also knew that, were that the case, he'd merely shake his head at Deidara's impulsiveness but then follow him wherever he led, probably having a great time in the process.

"_No, stop, please stop_," Itachi commanded the tingling feelings that had started to make their presence known within every inch of his limbs and were starting a slow, smoldering attack on his heart.

He was an Uchiha, and Akatsuki for fuck's sake. He was supposed to be dark and mysterious, impenetrable. Which meant that falling for an impish blonde was not allowed to be part of the picture or even considered for inclusion in any part of Itachi's life ...


	5. Chapter 5

**I am writing this chapter because I can. I decided when writing this story that I was going to try to take it less seriously than I normally do with my fanfictions and just have fun, making it swivel and glide wherever I felt.**

**This chapter contains spanking, so if that's not your thing, skip to the next chapter. It's not like critical to the storyline or anything. Just me having fun. If it had been Itachi instead of Sasori then it could have been much more ... delightfully sensual. However, it's not the time or place for that ... yet :). The next chapters are going to get increasingly spicy. "Lemony" to be more technically correct, I suppose. But hopefully they still will be sweet and convincing, as well. With that being said, this is my first time writing something like this so I'm a little nervous.**

**Regardless, here we go...**

**(P.S. I don't own Naruto)**

XXX

"Deidara! What the hell?!"

Deidara was in trouble and he knew it.

He had been partners with Sasori long enough to be able to identify each and every one of the puppet master's moods from the small spectrum which existed for the mostly wooden old man.

And he could guess why. One of Sasori's favorite puppets, having been blown up into tiny little pieces, was lying scattered across the rock and rubble outside of the Akatsuki hideout.

Deidara didn't know what impulse had convinced him to do this.

He had been bored that day with Kisame and Itachi out training or doing some shit like that. This art experiment had just been a thought, and once he had it in his mind, he couldn't get rid of it. After all, life was short. You had to go with your gut and make the most of every minute.

However, Deidara was almost completely certain he wouldn't really want to make the most of the next few minutes if the redhead's blazing eyes were any indication.

"I'm sorry, Sasori no Danna!" He exclaimed, throwing up his hands in defense.

"_Better get my apologies ready_," he figured. Unfortunately, he had no justification and that was making it hard for him to come up with anything to say besides, "I'm sorry."

"You reckless kid!" Sasori was screeching.

"I'm sorry! It was just sitting out here, hm. Looking so beautiful, and I couldn't help myself."

It didn't matter what he said, Deidara knew. Sasori was _pissed_.

"That's always the reason, isn't it? You need to learn a thing or two about manners, Deidara! You are thoughtless and unruly! No respect. It's always the same."

Deidara tried not to laugh as Sasori, usually quiet and unemotive, paced back and forth, his arms flailing as he berated the youth. Still, Deidara knew his face must have displayed some kind of flippancy, because he could tell right away something had snapped in his master.

The redhead had froze, his eyes absolutely livid as he glared at the bomber.

"That's it," Sasori said, grabbing Deidara's wrist.

Immediately, the blonde felt his heart jump in his throat. He had no idea what his Danna was doing, and he was sure as hell he didn't want to.

"S-Sasori, wha-"

"Shut up. Just shut up. Or you will regret it."

Something in Sasori's voice told Deidara it was true. His mouth clamped shut, although his body was beginning to tremble with apprehension and his throat had long since gone dry.

Sasori wouldn't actually kill him, would he?

It seemed like a serious possibility. However, the puppet master was simply dragging the artist into the hideout and into his bedroom.

_"... Nope. Going to be worse than death_," Dedara thought with certainty.

"I have had it with you, Deidara," Sasori muttered.

Having reached the intended destination, he released the blonde's wrist. "You need to learn some respect. Which is why I'm going to resort to a method I haven't used in more than a year."

Deidara was pretty sure his heart stopped. He was thoughtless sometimes, sure, but the artist was in fact incredibly intelligent. And he knew exactly to what Sasori was referring.

Time to go into full-blown begging mode.

"P-please," the artist tried to stop his words from gushing forth as a string of stammers. "Sasori no Danna, I'm sorry. I promise. It was an accident, hm. I promise it never will happen again! Never. I-I just... please, hm."

Sasori paid no attention to Deidara's rambling, which was commonplace, or his hasty apologies, which were even more so. Grabbing the small blonde's arm, he yanked him over to the bed.

Sasori's wooden fingers digging into Deidara's bicep hurt. But it was nothing compared to ... the blonde gulped.

Wasting not even a second, Sasori sat on his bed and pulled the shocked teenager - whose body had effectually turned into rubber, making it relatively easy to push him around - over his lap.

"Sasori!" Deidara yelped, his eyes taking in the dusty, concrete floor and his mind registering that this was actually fucking happening. "I'm sorry, hm! P-please!"

"Stop talking," Sasori said at last, extending his arm and placing his hand on Deidara's lower back to keep him in place. "You know you have this coming, Deidara. I don't want to hear another word."

With that, he raised his wooden palm high and brought it swinging across the blonde's taut upturned backside.

Deidara hissed. He had forgotten about this "method" of Sasori's. He had gotten it twice for his much older partner when he first started with the Akatsuki but that felt like ages ago.

This did not.

Over and over again Sasori brought his hand slamming against the teenager's tight ass, which was wriggling in response. After fifteen hard swats, Deidara was actually beginning to feel a slight burn.

"_Please be over soon_," he thought, aching more from humiliation than the actual pain.

However, Sasori had other ideas. His wooden palm did not let up, but instead moved artfully to cover every inch of the perky, black-clad bottom that was in perfect position to be spanked again and again.

"You are a brat and you're going to learn your lesson." Sasori crashed his palm against Deidara's thigh.

The blonde yelped in response.

"I've had it with your mischief. You act like a fucking child half the time, Deidara!"

"I-I'm sorry-"

"I said don't talk," Sasori said, taking a brief break from harshly spanking the teen's squirming buttocks to slip his fingers under Deidara's black pants and pull them down, along with his boxers.

Deidara gasped as the stale, cool air stroked his sensitive backside. He was anxious as hell and began desperately squirming and kicking.

"No, Danna! Please, hm! Not on the bare -"

"Deidara." Sasori's voice was cold as steel. "Hold still. I'm just getting started, brat."

He brought his hand swinging down on Deidara's now naked buns, which flattened slightly on impact before presenting themselves for more of the severe, painful punishment.

"I'm going to beat your ass red, Deidara."

The sound of wood on bare skin was highly pleasing to the puppet master. He knew it had to be hurting the whimpering teenager who was sprawled across his legs.

Deidara was mortified. And in pain.

He thought about actually putting some effort into breaking free of Sasori's hold and trying to get up to escape the punishment. But it would be quite the fight as he would actually have to focus on hurting Sasori if he was to get anywhere, and he hated the thought of disappointing his Danna further.

Best to just ride out the awful and mortifying spanking he was getting.

But damn. His ass already felt like it was on fire and tears had began to sting the back of his eyes. And he knew his master just was getting warmed up.

What made all of it worse was that Sasori hadn't shut the door behind him. Luckily, everyone was out, as far as Deidara knew. The blonde's face became scarlet at the possibility of... someone... seeing this embarrassing display.

"Now, what was I saying?" Sasori asked, slapping the perky, muscular cheeks again and again and again, making sure every inch of flesh was thoroughly smacked. The lovely curves of both Deidara's buns now had been covered with a satisfying pink blush.

"That's right," Sasori continued, emphasizing each of his words with a merciless blow to Deidara's vulnerable ass. "You. Are. A. Fucking. Brat! You have never learned how to follow rules, always just acting with reckless abandon. Even going as far as to _ruin people's things_!"

It was as if Sasori had just remembered about his precious, now dismembered puppet, for if Deidara thought the strokes had hurt before, they felt nothing compared to the spanks that were now crashing on his warm, reddening ass.

Having just been focusing on the round middle area of each demiglobe, Sasori shifted his leg so Deidara's rear end was lifted even higher and began to target Deidara's sensitive sit spots ... hard.

"Ow! Fuck! Not there!" Deidara couldn't help crying out, his hands clenching the sheet on Sasori's bed in a death grip.

The tender flesh was quickly beginning to take on a scarlet glow as Sasori pounded it with his wooden hand over and over again, making Deidara screech.

"Ouuch!" the blonde wailed. "Shit, Sasori. I-I'm sorry!"

"I said shut up!" Sasori commanded harshly, increasing the speed with which he was spanking the wriggling buns. "Don't fucking talk again, Deidara. Or I will make this worse."

It stung so bad. Deidara tried to keep his legs from kicking out in protest, but when a particularly stinging blow struck the delicate undercurve of his left ass cheek, he couldn't stop his hand from shooting back to protect his poor, burning backside.

"YOOWWW! SHIIIT!" He howled.

Sasori didn't interrupt his barrage of swats to the red mounds, but nonchalantly caught Deidara's hand with his own and pinned it down to the small of his back, where Sasori's hand previously had been pushing to keep the teenager down anyway.

"You shouldn't have done that," Sasori said threateningly, strengthening his hold on the slight, blonde artist, whose face was now covered in tears. He began targeting the tops of Deidara's pale, toned thighs. "Now shut the fuck up and take your punishment."

Over and over again Sasori thrashed Deidara's ass. The skin had turned from lightly red to a tantalizing glowing crimson that rivaled Sasori's hair.

Deidara had long since started weeping, his quiet yelps and groans broken every now again with an almost indiscernible expletive muttered under his breath like a sob.

Sasori noticed that the teenager was no longer struggling and now just sort of laying there, his body dangling limply over Sasori's hard lap while his toned, burning ass received a harsh beating. Sasori also was happy to see that the teen's face was not dressed in the mocking smirk it wore half the time, even when Deidara was fighting.

"Almost done," Sasori sighed, his voice almost at its usual timbre as he had exhausted nearly all his anger when passing it onto Deidara's nether cheeks, which still continued to bounce slightly with each painful stroke.

Sasori gave the teenager six more hard spanks, making sure each hit a different area, before somewhat harshly puling him off his lap.

He was nearly finished.

"Now," Sasori said, ignoring how small and pathetic the blonde looked with his pants still bunched about his thighs and his hands quickly working to wipe the tears from his attractive face. "Go stand against the wall."

Deidara did so, his shoulders shaking with each sob.

"Please, Danna ... I-I'm ... s-so, sorry ..."

"Hmph," Sasori said, pushing the blonde forward until he was standing a few feet away from the wall. "Put your hands on the wall!"

"D-danna -" Deidara stuttered, his eyes wide. He was so sure it was over. So, why did he have to ...?

"Deidara. Do. It. Now."

Breaking into a fresh batch of tears, the trembling blonde did as he was told, placing his palms squarely on the uncomfortable, stone wall and thrusting out his tight ass in the process.

He knew what this must look like. He was basically presenting his round, scarlet cheeks to the redheaded puppet master so he could spank the shit out of them!

He heard a clicking sound and his heart nearly stopped.

"N-no! PLEASE! SASORI!" He wailed.

"Deidara, if you keep talking, I will increase the strokes from twenty to thirty."

That would suck, Deidara thought with a sinking heart. He knew he had no choice but to stand there, with his body bent over and his naked, throbbing buttocks vulnerable to twenty cutting spanks from the evil implement.

Sasori observed to make sure Deidara was in a position that would make him as vulnerable to the spanking as possible, doubled his belt, and brought the leather crashing against the trembling cheeks.

"YOOOWTCH!" Deidara cried.

It took all his strength not to reach his hands back to try to protect his poor buns, which currently felt like they were on fire.

"19 more. Hold still, or I will increase the number."

One after another the strokes came, the black leather of Sasori's belt hitting every inch of Deidara's tiny ass in turn, leaving behind an angry red welt with each swat.

The artist had lost every ounce of decorum at this point. He was slumped over now, his fair head hanging between his arms, his hands pasted to the wall while the stinging belt struck him again and again.

Sasori noted that fact with satisfaction while watching the firm mounds jiggle with each thrash.

By the time Sasori was done, Deidara was a mess and his once, cream-colored butt and thighs were a mass of bright red, burning flesh.

"Now," Sasori said, calmly putting his belt back on. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Deidara tried to get his mind past the inferno raging in his backside and form the words he knew Sasori wanted to hear.

"I-I'm so sorry, Sasori no Danna," Deidara choked out through the sobs that were causing his slender shoulders to shake. "I was reckless, hm. I didn't think and it was rude. I'm sorry, hm. I w-won't do it again."

"You better not. Now. Go stand in the corner. Hands on your head."

"_What_ _the fuck_?" Deidara was about to protest loudly when he caught the warning embedded in Sasori's intense glare. Deciding his tender ass couldn't take even one more spanking, the blonde complied.

"And don't even _think_ about pulling your pants up."

Deidara felt like nothing more than an absolute manifestation of humiliation with his nose pressed in the corner, his punished backside utterly on display, and his fingers intertwined against his golden locks instead of rubbing the pain out of his round and now red and hot bottom.

Sasori settled on the bed, opening a book and feeling entirely at peace once again. He wanted to chuckle to himself.

This was exactly where the explosive young brat belonged: sniffling in the corner with his freshly beaten little buttocks squirming with pain and humiliation. ... The puppet master would have to remember this method and use it again on his unruly partner.

Goodness knows there would definitely be another opportunity.


	6. Chapter 6

**I think I have the ages about right. I figure if this takes place some time near the end of the time skip, right before the start of Shippuden, Deidara would be 17 (maybe 18 in the show, but I decided to make him almost 18) and Itachi would be 20. If I didn't get that right than I apologize to anyone who is offended.**

**As always, I don't own Naruto.**

XXXX

Itachi was awoken from a light sleep about forty minutes later by a small knock on his door.

He sighed in irritation, but mumbled almost inaudibly, "Come in."

He squinted into the light that flooded his dark room, but then felt his heart jump to his throat when a very cute blonde peaked his face shyly through the door. Pangs of sadness pricked Itachi's heart when he saw the tear-stained face, but, fuck, was Deidara's bare torso just delectable. Thank goodness he hadn't put on a shirt.

"H-hey, Itachi."

The raven had never seen the artist so sedated.

"Um ... can I come and hang out with you for a bit, hm?"

Itachi knew they were friends so he couldn't say no. Nor did he actually want to say no. In truth, dissent was far, far away from what he emotionally _wanted_. He was just worried about what he might say or do in his current state with the blonde looking so fucking captivating in _his_ current state. For instance, as much as Itachi hated to see the teenager cry, he was dying to see Sasori's handiwork and feel it beneath his hands as he groped that sweet ass.

But Dei didn't know that Itachi had seen the whole incident, and he certainly wasn't about to reveal that information.

"Yeah, sure."

Itachi turned on a lamp next to his bed and Deidara quietly shut the door behind him and then hurried over to Itachi's bed and climbed in. Itachi winced when Deidara's bare arm grazed his own.

"_Fuck. Is he trying to kill me? Or does he really just want me to tear off those pants and go to town on his sexy little ass?"_

"You okay, Itachi?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Of course I am. How you doing, Dei?"

Deidara smiled softly at the sound of Itachi uttering his nickname. Itachi had to will himself to look away from those deep blue eyes that were watching his face so carefully.

"I'm alright ... well, hm... yeah, not really. Man, I just got it bad from Sasori."

Itachi's heart beat faster. "Oh, yeah? What happened?"

His feigned ignorance was rewarded with an adorable pink blush that covered Deidara's cheeks as he glanced away bashfully.

"Ah, you know. Sasori just doesn't appreciate good art. I was doing some of my best work, and I guess he just didn't appreciate that I was utilizing one of his puppets."

Itachi chuckled softly. What a little mischief maker the blonde was!

"Well, Dei," he ventured. "You don't need a Sharingan to see that one coming."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," He dismissed the problem with a small brush of his slender hand. "But, damn, it really was beautiful. You should have seen it, hm! Almost worth what I got in return .. almost."

Itachi tried to think quickly. Was it appropriate for him to keep prying? Probably not if he waited too long, so he had to make it seem natural, but he'd also have to be nonchalant.

That was growing into a hard task to accomplish with Deidara's half-naked body next to his and his ruffled blonde hair falling over his flushed face in that appealing way.

"What happened?"

"... you can't laugh, Itachi-kun, hm."

"Come on, Dei. I'd never do that." "_But I would like to do something else."_ Itachi's eyes dropped for a brief second from Deidara's downcast blue eyes to his full, pouting lips.

"... he spanked the shit out of me. He said he was going to beat my ass red, and boy, did he deliver."

Itachi grimaced for his friend. "I'm so sorry."

"Nah, it's okay. He's done it before, hm. It was just worse this time. Fuck. It hurt like hell .. and actually, it still kind of hurts a lot," Deidara glanced up at Itachi before continuing, ".. do you think ...? I mean, would you mind rubbing some lotion on it for me, hm? I just have a hard time reaching back there."

Itachi was more than a bit shocked at the request, but couldn't deny that he also was entirely elated. However, he kept all his emotions in check, being careful to note that Dei was asking for the favor so unabashedly and without a hint of seduction in his voice.

"_This request means nothing," _Itachi thought, trying not to feel disappointed by that fact. "Yeah, sure. ... umm ... you got some?"

"Mmmmhmmm." Completely unembarrassed the blonde teenager whipped out a bottle of lotion. He dropped it in Itachi's lap before plopping over onto his stomach.

"_Oh shit_." Itachi let his eyes run wild for a few seconds to devour the sight of Deidara lying face down on his bed, arms stretched overhead and crossed so the terrorist bomber could rest his head on them. This position made the muscles in his lithe back even more prominent.

"_I guess that means I have to take his pants down_." Itachi hoped his breathing wasn't audible. He figured it must sound like a windstorm at this point. He tried to position himself so that if anything ... unexpected ... happened to his member, it wouldn't be noticeable, and then he slipped his fingers into the waistband of Deidara's pants and slipped them down.

"_Fuck_." He could feel his mouth filling with saliva and his dick beginning to grow.

Deidara's ass had been sexy from a distance, but at this point, it was ... perfect, even as red and welted as it was. In fact, for some reason, that was only making Itachi hornier. He commanded his hands to stop trembling as he opened the lotion, squirted some onto his palm and then began to rub it into the gorgeous mounds being presented to him.

Deidara's skin was soft and warm to his touch.

"_Am I drooling?" _Itachi couldn't help wondering.

The blonde hissed in pain when Itachi's hands made contact with his sensitive backside.

"Careful," he whimpered pathetically. "It still stings like a bitch, hm."

"Yeah, of course... I'll be careful, for sure, Dei-kun. Just hold still. It'll be over in a second." Itachi spoke that last sentence with disappointment. He began to massage the artist's well-formed ass cheeks, making sure to cover _every_ inch of those buns while they were sitting before him, so close, so delightful. He began at the small of Deidara's back and went all the way down to the tops of his usually creamy thighs, making sure to pay ample attention to the sides of the blonde's ass, as well.

Itachi was pretty sure this delectable ass had been made solely for the purposes of being spanked and fucked. It was mouth-watering.

Deidara moaned softly, but this time in pleasure and not in pain, and Itachi could feel himself becoming even harder.

"Thanks, Itachi. That feels so much better. You're a good friend, hm."

"_Right. Friend." _"No problem, Deidara," He had taken as long as he possibly could without it being obvious he was stalling. Itachi massaged the rest of the lotion into his own hands and then gently and regretfully pulled the blonde's pants up over his butt.

The bomber stayed laying on his stomach but he turned his face to look up at the raven-haired Uchiha and gave him a smile ... an open, playful smile, and, for a second, Itachi thought he caught a hint of something else ... could it be? Maybe?

"You ever had a lover, Itachi?"

What a time for the little troublemaker to ask such a question! What a dick! With his emotions already raging and the sensitive nature of this topic, Itachi had no idea how to prepare to have this conversation. Yet, for some reason, he wanted so badly to be able to have this sort of emotional intimacy and mutual trust with someone ... and he wanted that someone to be Deidara.

Still, hot tears had stung his eyes before he answered quietly, "Yeah. Once. I was dating him for about two years actually. And then ..."

His throat was so sore and tense as the small pools of water in his onyx eyes threatened to spill over. Luckily they didn't. Itachi wasn't ready for Deidara to see him cry, yet. Regardless, Deidara sat up quickly, a look of alarm on his face that his question had triggered this sort of response from the usually stoic Itachi.

"Then what, hm? ... I mean, um. W-we don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

Itachi gave the blonde a weak but genuine smile when he saw the empathy embedded in his bright blue eyes.

"No, it's okay. I haven't talked about it with anyone. I-it's actually nice," he took a deep breath and then continued. "He was an Uchiha. And he was wonderful. But when I ... killed all my clansmen, I killed him as well. I had no choice."

Deidara's warm hand had taken one of the raven's cold, pale ones into its comforting grasp. Itachi had never held the hand of a person who had an additional mouth on that particular body part, but it felt nice, like Deidara was pressing his lips to the Uchiha's palm.

"But why, hm?! Why did you have to kill him, too? You could have left him alive!"

Itachi sat wordlessly for a few minutes, trying to come up with a good answer in response to the blonde artist's outrage, which, by the way, was heartwarming.

Still .. Itachi liked Deidara, but he couldn't quite trust him with that information. After all, as adorable and sexy and fuckable as the slender 17-year-old was, he was still an Akatsuki member. And Itachi had a deep dark secret that none of them _ever_ could know.

"It just wasn't a part of the plan," Was all the Uchiha could think to say. "My partner that night just made me realize it would be too dangerous to keep him alive ... that it was all or nothing."

He hoped with all his heart that Deidara wouldn't bring up the fact that he hadn't killed his little brother, Sasuke. Luckily, he was simply considering Itachi's pale, handsome face with such a look of overwhelming sadness and compassion that it made Itachi feel an immediate brush of comfort.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. I'm so sorry. That sucks, hm. I-I don't know what else to say."

Itachi shrugged. "It's alright."

The two sat in silence for a few seconds, with Deidara still holding Itachi's hand tightly. He hoped he wouldn't stop.

"Shit ... I feel like an asshole for asking that now," Deidara said, his cheeks once again flushed in embarrassment.

Not wanting to dwell on the past anymore as it was too painful and there was nothing Itachi could do about it now, he carefully packaged up those memories and pushed them back into the corners of his mind.

He smiled and playfully gave the blonde teenager a soft tap beneath his chin so he'd lift his eyes.

"It's alright, Dei-kun. There's no way you could've known. What about you, then? Ever had a lover?"

"Well, I don't know if you would call them that, hm," Deidara cocked his head as he considered the question. "I mean, I've had sex partners ... but just one-night stands and those sorts of things, you know, hm. I don't like getting attached to people anymore. It's a waste of time. So, I stay away from commitment crap, and wouldn't say I've had a 'lover,' per se."

"I can see how that would be a better way to go," Itachi said with a short, brittle laugh, not against Deidara but in appreciation of his style. It definitely did seem easier to the Uchiha, who had experienced more than his dose of tragedy and broken relationships with friends and family. "Commitment takes too much of a toll."

"Exactly," Deidara nodded, his eyes focused on the soft glow of the lamp in the room but vacant as he seemed to be thinking of a particular experience that gave a foundation to his beliefs. "Just a waste of time."

The two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both thinking their own thoughts together. Suddenly, Itachi became aware that his hand still was intertwined with the explosive blonde teenager's, their fingers - capped with identical dark purple paint - pressing into each other. .. And that Deidara's head was close to his shoulder ... very close.

He could smell Deidara's hair and it smelled surprisingly sweet, and somehow warm...

"Wait!" The artist's head shot up. "That was years ago! So you haven't fucked in like ... what? Four years?"

It was Itachi's turn to blush, but not before he had given the blonde a slight scowl and punched his arm.

"Unlike you, Dei, I'm not a sex-crazed little lunatic."

Deidara simply laughed, before admitting openly, "You have no idea, Itachi-kun. No idea ..."

Itachi thought he caught the blonde's mischievous eyes blatantly look down at his full, smirking lips for a few seconds, but he couldn't be quite sure. ... Could he?

Freaked out and unsure of where to go from there, Itachi quickly looked away, scared that if he kept gazing at Deidara's perfect face he might do something stupid, like stroke it ... or worse yet, brush his lips against the blonde's completely kissable mouth.

Deidara's heart plummeted with disappointment. He had been so sure, _so sure_, that it was about to happen. That he finally was going to get the kiss he had been dreaming about for months now.

He wanted Itachi so badly. That handsome, arousing face with the pensive, ebony eyes, fringed in black lashes that delicately brushed the Uchiha's pale, elegant cheeks whenever he blinked or looked down.

Maybe Deidara should just have gone for it. But he felt scared, which definitely wasn't like him. He was known to just bolt ahead and do what he wanted without thinking. But the exquisite, brilliant former Leaf nin messed with his brain in more ways than one.

Itachi thought quickly and turned the topic of the conversation to something less heartbreaking or potentially arousing. Deidara had no choice but to follow his lead.

They kept their voices down as they talked and laughed so as not to alert their teammates that they were tucked together in a single bedroom, Deidara only wearing pants and Itachi just in his underclothes.

The clock on the wall slowly ticked away, showing that minutes, then hours had passed away with mysterious speed. But as he was apt to do, Deidara paid it no mind. And, for once, neither did Itachi.

Moonlight was trickling in through the window to combine with the soft light from the lamp and make a delicate pool of yellow on the floor.

The two continued talking until cobwebs had begun to build in their minds before too long and their words became softer, with more spaces in between.

It was well past midnight when, shamelessly, as friends, the raven and the blonde drifted off to sleep side by side.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for reviewing, following and favoriting (especially Seasponges)! I know I can be a bit depraved and dirty, but it's hard to make apologies. I write the kind of stories I like to read, and then put them on here in case others find that kind of stuff enjoyable as well. I'm anxious to speed this story up and get to the "good" stuff, but I like to handle the characters delicately. I mean, I know I'm taking them out of character some already, but I'm trying to do so as little as possible. **

**Beware, for those who are not like half way through Shippuden, this chapter contains what might be construed as spoilers... I probably should have noted that at the beginning of this story, but oh well! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its wonderful, interesting characters.**

XXX

Itachi was roused again a few hours later with a slight pain in his neck. When he came into full consciousness he realized the reason why, and it didn't seem to matter anymore. Deidara was nestled up right against him, his arm draped over Itachi's slender, muscular stomach, his head resting on Itachi's relaxed shoulder.

Likewise, Itachi had let his head drop against the blonde's, which was why he was now paying with a slight ache.

Itachi had no idea how they got into this position but it must have happened in those last few minutes before sleep descends, when inhibitions have been erased and critical thinking skills are all but diminished. Or maybe once passed out, they had sort of just drifted together.

He stared down at the beauty whose body was unconsciously merging with his own. He tried to think of what would be the best thing to do.

More than anything he wanted to reposition Deidara carefully so that he could fall back asleep with the blonde in his arms and share a few sweet hours of wonderful intimacy with the gorgeous teenager.

But ... a blinding caution was not letting itself be removed from his mind. He knew better. As much as he wanted to be with the artist, he couldn't ... he just couldn't ...it was too dangerous, and the Uchiha was anything but stupid.

It would be better for him to try to gently move Dei off his shoulder and then awaken him casually so he could go back to his own room.

Itachi took one last whiff of the sun-tinged locks fanning the blonde's face and draping themselves brazenly over both of their chests. He closed his eyes for a few seconds so he could more precisely engrave into his brain the memory of how it felt to have Deidara's slim arm wrapped around his naked waist while the rest of the bomber's body pressed up against the Uchiha's own refined torso and limbs.

Heaving a sigh of regret, he ever so gently lifted Deidara off his body and placed him so he was lying next to, instead of on, Itachi.

The blonde stirred slightly. Itachi was sure he had never seen anything more stunning.

Using his fingers to softly brush Deidara's glittering bangs out of his peaceful face, Itachi took a few more precious, silent seconds to study it. How had he missed it before? Was he blind or just a lunatic? Deidara was physically perfect, ideal in every sense of the word.

How had he not seen that from day one?

Or maybe he had and that, combined with the fact that he knew Dei was off limits, is why he was irritated, sometimes even driven mad, by interacting with the bomber. Itachi artfully moved a few inches back from the fair-skinned, god-like body of his sleeping friend, although his eyes continued to survey him from head to toe.

Itachi had his hands clenched in fists and he knew it was because, if he didn't keep them that way, there would be nothing to prevent them from running all over Deidara's intoxicating form that was bathed in a soft luminescence from the lamp neither of them had thought to turn off. How badly he wanted to kiss every inch of that body! Itachi knew his dick was fucking hard. He hoped Deidara would be too groggy to notice.

Conscientiously settling down his breathing, Itachi reached out a hand and gently shook Deidara's shoulder.

"Wha-," the blonde stirred again, slowly lifting the lids off his intoxicating blue eyes, as he gently craned his head to peer up at Itachi with a slight smile on his light pink lips. "Mmmm," He moaned softly while he twisted his body to stretch it out.

"_Damnit_." Itachi nearly choked as his dick throbbed at the delightful sight.

"You, uh, fell asleep.. er, we fell asleep. But I think it might be good for you to go back to your own room." Itachi knew he was stammering. He tried to get his hormones under control and act more cool and nonchalant. "Might be kind of weird if we slept in the same bed, right?"

Wait, did Deidara just look sad when he said that? If he had, any sign of that disappointment was gone before Itachi could confirm it.

The blonde sat up with his normal amount of cheeriness and grinned openly at the Uchiha. "Yeah, you're right about that, hm. Kisame and Sasori would have a field day, or go berserk or something. Well, see you tomorrow, Itachi! Sleep well, hm. And thanks for all your help tonight."

Itachi merely nodded, hoping his face didn't reveal how much he regretted to say goodnight to the artist and watch him go.

At the door, Deidara turned one last time to smile and wave goodnight.

Itachi loved the way Deidara smiled with his whole face. The raven had to physically bite down on his tongue to stop himself from calling out to the blonde and telling him to get back into bed because he wanted his sexy little body.

As the door clicked shut, Itachi let himself fall back onto the bed.

"Damnit," he murmured through gritted teeth. He held two tight handfuls of his blanket on either side of his body as he stared up at the ceiling and tried to sort through the crazy emotions that were settling on his body.

To say he was torn in two would be an understatement and too easy of a problem to deal with. Rather, he felt like his entire being was being pulled in a dozen different directions that threatened to rip him apart.

He was angry at himself for letting himself develop feelings for Deidara, of all people! He was sexually frustrated and couldn't squelch the erotic images dancing mischievously in his mind no matter how much he begged them to go away. He was embarrassed, agonized, and confused.

His hard exterior shell had been effectively cracked and what was spilling out seemed so foreign and disconcerting to the powerful Uchiha.

_"These ridiculous feelings will only make you weaker, Itachi. Or cause you indescribable pain ... remember that?"_

Unwilling to let himself off without some sort of penalty for so carelessly falling for the former Iwagakure nin, Itachi forced himself to think back to that horrible, horrible night. He shuddered as his eyes filled to the brim with tears.

No matter how long he repressed those memories, they always remained potent and possessed the power to psychologically destroy Itachi once let out.

It had been the biggest debate of his life when he tried to decide whether he would look his Uchiha lover in the eye when he killed him or whether he'd do it secret, so that the precious young man, who actually had been a year older than Itachi, could die somewhat peacefully without the sting of knowing about Itachi's betrayal.

The raven's shoulders shook with sobs as he tormented himself with short, vague, somewhat hazy clips from that night.

In the end, he had been so selfish, and simply poisoned his boyfriend the last night he made love to him so the precious individual would die a relatively painless death and never have to know it was Itachi who had .. murdered him.

Even now, he felt disgusted with himself for choosing such a cowardly, self-indulging path, but he truly had believed the positive aspects of that method were mutual for both of them, even though it was his sweetheart who had ... lost his life ...

"_He didn't 'lose his life_,'" Itachi reprimanded himself silently, spitting the words out like a volcano, trying to punish himself thoroughly as he knew once he started this horrific journey into his past it was best to soak out all the self-loathing he could in one try. "_You murdered him. Just accept that. There's no way around it. You ... murdered ... him_."

The raven flipped over onto his stomach, his body shaking as the memories, now unleashed, attacked him from every angle, infecting him with the guilt, shame, and bitterness that he worked so hard to avoid.

That was one of the hardest deaths to endure ... that and those of his parents. He hated himself for betraying the people he loved the most.

Luckily, in a few more years, none of it would matter. He would be released from this suffering forever.

Never again would he have to think of the disappointment and anguish in the eyes and faces of his loved ones ... his mom, his dad, his boyfriend, and, of course, most of all his dearly beloved little brother whom he missed with all his heart.

A damp wet spot had formed on his clean white pillow. His heart ached.

He couldn't do the same to Deidara. It would be incredibly cruel of him to pursue and try to win over the sweet, explosive blonde young man when he knew, he _actually knew_, that it couldn't end well.

"_That doesn't mean you couldn't -"_ Itachi cut himself off before letting that selfish thought form to completion. What an awful thing to think! Damn him for ever letting himself even wish for such a thing.

It was impossible. That's all there was to it.

Itachi was a man of integrity, although that aspect of his personality had become increasingly obfuscated over the past few years and now was almost entirely hidden from the naked eye.

Nevertheless, he wouldn't sleep with Deidara unless he were going to allow himself to fall hard for the blonde. And he wasn't going to let himself fall for Deidara because it would complicate all his carefully constructed plans.

Also, even though he knew Dei definitely would end up suffering and that thought alone made his heart constrict with preemptive pain and guilt, Itachi knew it would end up being just one more heartbreak for himself as well.

Neither of those possibilities, or rather certainties, were things the guarded Uchia was willing to risk.

XXX

Deidara was going crazy. He tried to stay focused and get all these distracting thoughts out of his mind.

_"Serves you right for losing your heart to someone as unattainable as Itachi."_

As cocky and self-assured as he was about every aspect of his life, this was one instance where Dei felt very self-conscious and unsure.

Itachi was unequaled in Deidara's mind. He was so powerful, brilliant, and intimidating, which, undoubtedly, all added up to the raven's appeal, but also made him seem more like a dream hovering somewhere just outside of the material world ... and definitely out of Deidara's reach.

"_At least now we're friends_," Dei thought happily. That was something. It was farther than they ever had been before. But not far enough. Not where Deidara wanted to be: namely, on his knees with Itachi's cock in his mouth.

Dei had been trying to feel out the cool, confident Uchiha to see if there was _any possibility_, but so far, he had no idea what he was reading. It was like trying to decipher a code written in a language that didn't exist.

Luckily, all the tension and angst added up into augmented creativity for the blonde, and that's what he thrived on. ... He just made sure to stay clear of Sasori's accessories during his artistic process since he now knew the lengths his Danna would go to in order to get his point across.

Deidara was shocked to realize he looked rather fondly on that night from a week ago, though. ... At least the comfort he had received from his gorgeous friend.

The punishment itself sucked pretty bad, although even that ... Deidara couldn't help but to wonder if his physical response would have been different if it had been the tall, dark Uchiha "teaching him a lesson" instead of Sasori, whose relationship with Deidara would be described more as paternal.

Damn, he'd love to be Itachi's bitch. He would do anything for that man ... and let the raven do anything to him, as well.

"_This is out of control_," Deidara said with a hidden blush when his dick grew at the mere thought of being tied up while Itachi mercilessly railed his body every which way.

Deidara hated feeling like he was trapped in a corner like this. He just wanted to explode, to pull the trigger and make something happen.

"_So what's stopping you?!"_ He asked himself a thousand times per day. And his answer always was the same ... _It's Itachi, damn it!_

Luckily his responsibilities as an Akatsuki member gave him plenty to keep him preoccupied enough to stop the urge to explode ... figuratively and literally.

And he had plenty of work to do on a project he had been trying to perfect for some time.

He currently sat barefoot on the floor in what probably was once this building's living room, different samples of his clay scattered all over the places and his hands covered in the stuff.

He was working to increase the vitality and strength of his clay and to devise more powerful explosive techniques.

Sasori silently entered the room, shook his head at the mess, and then settled into a chair on the other side.

"Hey, Sasori no Danna!" Deidara glanced up with a smile. He was glad his older partner was there ... maybe he would have some words of wisdom to help the teenager.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Deidara finally cautiously and nonchalantly put forth his question.

"Hey, Sasori ... you're like 50, right?"

"I'm 35," Sasori corrected acidly, not looking up from sharpening one of his puppet's blades.

"Yeah, sure, hm. Thirty-five. That's what I meant," Deidara continued to work the clay with his dexterous hands. "So... you ever been in love?"

Sasori's head shot up. He considered the blonde carefully for a few seconds to see if he was serious since the artist rarely took anything seriously. But sure enough, Deidara was looking up at him expectantly, his large blue eyes absolutely sincere.

"Son of a bitch," Sasori groaned with a sigh. " Are you serious? I've been try to teach you things for two years and _this_ is what you seek my advice on? You're a criminal, for fuck's sake. You don't have time for that anyway."

"No!" Deidara shot back with a flash of anger in his eyes. "No ... I'm an artist first and foremost. The crime stuff is just a venue to perfect my work, hm. That always has been and always will be my primary goal. And, as a craftsman, I know that love is one of the most important sources of inspiration. I'm just curious, is all, hm!"

Sasori rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, Danna! It's like a history lesson. You love that shit ... the history of Sasori, hm."

"Oh, for crying out loud." The puppet master's red waves jiggled lightly as he shook his head... the blonde was insatiable! He decided to keep his answer short. "Maybe. Once."

"With a Suna kunoichi?"

"Well, she was from Sand village ... we didn't fraternize with people outside the Land of Wind those days ... But she wasn't a shinobi, actually."

"So, did she love you back, hm?"

Sasori nodded, his face completely unemotional.

Deidara had no idea how anyone could manage to do that, but it was a common trait among most of the Akatsuki members except for himself, Hidan and Zetsu - although, to be fair, he was a lot less rambunctious than those two most of the time.

"So, what happened then?"

"I grew up. I realized love is a weakness. Besides, I was so young. Probably wasn't real love anyway. Just as well."

Deidara looked down at the soft, cold material in his hands. "How would one know that, hm? Know when it's 'real' or not? Whatever the hell that means."

Sasori gave a short laugh. "You're asking the wrong person, kid. I haven't felt 'real' love in years. Or any emotion that was pure and unadulterated for that matter."

"But say things were different? Say you had really _wanted_ to, hm? Wanted to fall in lo-uuuuuh, n-never mind. Sounds good. Thanks. Good talk, hm!"

Sasori looked quizzically at the stuttering blonde who had just turned wide eyed and pale and then had his face flushed scarlet all in a one-second period. The puppet master glanced behind him to see the raven-haired Uchiha standing coolly in the doorway. His cloak hung partially open and one of his arms rested casually on it like usual.

"You want to go for a walk, Dei?" Itachi said evenly, his eyes scanning the mess on the floor before landing on the artist sitting amongst it.

"Yeah, sure, hm!" Deidara jumped to his feet, wiping off his hands on his shirt. "Let me go get my shoes."

He ran out of the room. Itachi's onyx eyes traveled to Sasori, whose own chocolate-brown eyes were fixed on the Uchiha and whose mouth was set in an insinuative, all-knowing smirk.

"What?" Itachi asked, his eyebrows drawing together as he looked warily at the puppet master. "What is it?"

Sasori shook his head, amazed that the young Uchiha protégé could be so brilliant, so calculated, his Sharingan eyes normally seeing everything, every last obscure detail, and yet be so entirely oblivious.

"Nothing, Itachi," Sasori said with a flat sigh, returning to his work. "It's absolutely nothing."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, everyone! Thanks so much for following, favoriting and reviewing. Please don't be shy or hesitant to call me out if a make spelling errors, etc., or if you have thoughts, ideas or opinions for what could make the story better. That's all I have to say today!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

XXX

Deidara hurried out the back door and down the hill behind their trashy hideout, glancing left and right periodically as he searched for Itachi's form among the brittle surroundings.

It shouldn't be hard to find. They were in a disgusting, dull, dry place and Itachi was nothing less than a beautiful breath of fresh air.

Besides, Deidara could spot the attractive raven-haired man anywhere, any day.

The bomber had been instructed by Sasori to find Itachi to let him know that the Akatsuki Leader had contacted them and informed them that they needed to head out to the western hideout for a group meeting.

Deidara had complied to the request wholeheartedly, hoping he didn't seem too eager, although he was sure the observant puppet master would note that he was more quick to fulfill this request than he was when it came to most of the things Sasori asked him to do.

Through cracked, dry vegetation on a crusted dirt road, Deidara scanned the harsh surroundings for Itachi.

Finally, he saw him, sitting on the bank of a cliff overlooking a rowdy sea. The crash of determined, unstoppable waves against stubborn, immovable rock grew louder as Deidara approached the silent Uchiha.

He tried to be quiet ... he wasn't sure why. But even feet away, and with the artist barely making a sound, Itachi could sense him there.

"Hey, Deidara," he said, his voice dressed in its normal calm, soft attire.

"Hey, Itachi," the blonde came to sit beside the raven. He knew he should be hurrying to give Itachi the reason he had searched for him and then be on his way, but he couldn't help trying to take advantage of a few minutes of solitude with the handsome genius. "So, I was sent to find you, hm. Sasori wanted me to tell you we're moving out to travel to our western hideout. Everyone else should be meeting us there. Apparently this is something Leader wanted most of us to be in person for, hm. Although why we can't just converse with them all from here is beyond me."

Deidara noticed that Itachi was still staring off into the distance and he wondered if he was even listening.

At last, Itachi spoke, and his voice was still eerily soft, "Alright. Thanks for letting me know."

Deidara felt a sting of pain in response to the fact that Itachi was being so standoffish again, when Deidara had believed that they were past this. Way past this.

The blonde waited for a few more seconds but it seemed Itachi had nothing left to say. He could feel his temper rising, but he wouldn't give the raven the opportunity to see how much his behavior could affect the sensitive artist.

"Well, hurry, hm. We don't want to be kept waiting."

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Just as Deidara was about to stand up to leave the bright, afternoon sun hit Itachi just right, and he caught sight of a wet trail that a tear, or tears, had left on the raven's serious face, as well as a small bundle of some still caught in the young man's onyx eyes.

Deidara never, ever had seen Itachi cry ... for a long time he had even truly believed the stoic young man was incapable of such a display of emotion, or any display of emotion for that matter.

Then their intimate moment two weeks ago happened when Itachi definitely had shown some signs of grief. But this was much, much worse. Deidara was immediately alarmed.

"Itachi!" Dei cried out, the object of his irritation quickly changing from the Uchiha to whatever the hell it was that was making him sad, growing exponentially in size as it did so. "What's wrong?! Are you okay, hm? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

Realizing that Dei had seen the tears on his face, Itachi blushed and quickly wiped away the remains. Damn, he hated to show that kind of weakness. Although the sweet response he was getting from the blonde artist was almost intoxicating.

"It's nothing, Deidara. I promise. Just dwelling on particularly painful past memories."

Deidara breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't something more terrifying or fatal, but still ... he hated to see his friend, his wonderful Itachi, upset about anything.

His heart continued its erratic thumping and his eyes and cheeks remained aflame. "What is it, hm? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Dei. I promise. I shouldn't have let my mind wander down that path."

Deidara tried to contain his emotions and act as passive as Itachi, but it was growing impossible. Something about the physical closeness he currently was sharing with the raven, as well as the experience of seeing him distraught like this was shooting bullets of pain, anger, and compassion through his body.

"I hate that," the blonde burst out at last, his azure eyes bright with anger. "I _hate_ to see you upset, Itachi. To hell with those thoughts, hm. They don't deserve to make you upset like this. Nothing does, hm. It makes me so angry. I hate it. Fucking hate it!"

That did it for Itachi. After such a long time of being alone and having to deal with nothing but mere wisps and memories of relationships as he had severed them all, this genuine expression of sympathy and care was melting his heart and weakening his resolve to stay distant.

Without giving it another thought (something Itachi never did), he wrapped his arms around Deidara in an unabashed embrace.

"_Oh gods, yes!_" The blonde thought, trying to stifle his elation and focus solely on comforting Itachi. Immediately, the artist's own arms shot around the usually taciturn Uchiha, hugging him oh so tightly in return.

Deidara kept one of his hands pressed against the raven's back and gently placed the other against Itachi's cheek so he could bring his head to his chest and gently stroke the locks that had come loose from the ebony ponytail.

Itachi let himself settle more thoroughly into the embrace of the younger man, only slightly embarrassed that he, as the older, more mature one, was having to be comforted by the fiery, brash teenager for once. But goodness knows he had seen Dei in more compromising states and positions than this.

_"Maybe it's okay to let him be here for me ... just this once,"_ Itachi thought as he snuggled his head into the blonde artist's warm shoulder.

Deidara held Itachi for a few seconds, in no rush whatsoever to have the hug end. He moved his thumbs in delicate, small circles to rub the raven's moist face and the middle of his back.

"_This is just right_," he thought, trying to savor every second of having Itachi's body pressed against his, regardless of the fact there were many layers of unwanted clothes between them.

He loved how Itachi smelled ... in addition to every single other thing about the handsome Uchiha, from his laconic sense of humor, to his intriguing personality and occasional sweetness, which Deidara was starting to think might actually be the most pure and natural of any of Itachi's qualities.  
And then physically ...

To Deidara, the black-haired young man was the ultimate project of the gods, their pinnacle creation among an otherwise magnificent world. Gorgeous didn't go far enough to describe the perfection of Itachi ... hell, not even masterpiece did.

"Thanks, Dei."

The words were slightly muffled as they were whispered against the breast of Deidara's cloak, but they aided in making his heart beat faster and his energy rise to dangerous levels that generally invoked crazy actions from the unpredictable bomber.

By the time Itachi had slowly raised his head to smile up at the blonde, the teenager could no longer contain himself.  
He had been patient long enough, damn it! And, for fuck's sake, patience was definitely not even close to one of his strengths. And he had been going insane for weeks now!

Unable to stop the passion from climaxing and driving him forward blindly, the blonde glided his right hand lower on Itachi's face so he could gently cup his chin.

"_Oh, what the hell?" _He had stopped calculating and thinking, and was content to let his hormones take him wherever they wanted. He wanted just ... to be. Just to exist in and maximize the experience of that moment.

His intense blue eyes stared right into Itachi's black ones as his head came forward, intentional and unwavering.

Taking one last deep, but silent breath, Deidara closed his eyes and gently pressed his mouth against Itachi's, moving artfully to claim it in a full, tender kiss. Immediately, it felt like his heart was zooming down to his feet, leaving a trail of consummate, passionate fire and dizzying waves of emotion in its wake. So, this was bliss.

Itachi's eyes widened and he let out a sharp gasp against Deidara's captivating mouth. Nevertheless, the artist kept going, moving his soft lips to gently massage the raven's, and, finally, letting his tongue brush against Itachi's upper lip.

It was Deidara's turn to almost gasp and burst with pleasure when the Uchiha at last gave in and actually started responding and kissing Deidara back.

Taking that as all the permission he needed, Deidara placed both hands tenderly on either side of Itachi's face and deepened the kiss. Having thought and dreamed about this moment for what seemed like forever, Deidara could not stop himself.

He had won his most sought after prize: he had the handsome Itachi in his arms, his mouth had tasted the raven's, and damn, it was just as addicting as the blonde ever could have hoped for.  
Boiling hot blood was raging through his veins. Any thought of consequences has darted from his mind.

He didn't care that he was plunging ahead with the recklessness that defined him; he would not, could not, stop kissing Itachi.

Eventually, it was Itachi who pulled back first, and when Deidara opened his eyes, the anxious, uncertain look on the raven's face had the artist backing down immediately, overcome with humiliation.

"_Shit_." He hoped his eyes didn't reveal his arousal, as it would make him way too vulnerable in relation to Itachi, who looked so clearly shocked and doubtful. "_This is just what I was afraid of, damnit."_

The blonde knew he had two options: he either could nonchalantly brush the kiss off as nothing more than a comforting gesture from a friend, or he could hurry and apologize before Itachi could say anything and hope to the gods that they wouldn't have to speak of this again.

What came out in reality was a little of both.

"Dei, I -" Itachi started.

"Sorry, Itachi," Deidara hurried to say, unwilling to hear any apologies or coverups or mockery from the proud Uchiha. He figured Itachi could interpret his apology however he wanted. "I hope you feel better soon, hm."

He jumped to his feet as he kept the babbling, trying to go so fast and hard that Itachi couldn't get a word in. "I'll see you back at the hideout. Just hurry, okay? Sasori seemed awfully impatient. And ... I just... I'm sorry ... just ... sorry. Feel better soon."

Once out of sight, the blonde broke into a run just as a whole batch of hot tears hit his eyes. Now he knew: this was exactly what had been stopping him. Itachi was just too ... out of reach.

He shut his eyes tightly for a second to keep the hot, bitter tears of embarrassment and anxiety back and then worked to regain complete composure before meeting back up with Sasori.

"You ready to go?" He asked, out of breath and flushed, when at last the redhead came into sight.

Kisame was leaning leisurely against the door-frame, swinging his large sword back and forth with ease.

Sasori glanced at the blonde's face curiously, but nodded. "But, we have to wait for Itachi."

"Why?" Deidara asked. He worried that his voice might be a little too loud, his nonchalance a little too fake to be believable. "We always just travel in two-men groups, hm. It's probably better for us to take different routes anyway. Less obvious, hm. And in case we have any altercations."

Dei was being both strategic but also incredibly jumpy and evasive and it make Sasori even more puzzled. Still, not wanting to pry into the crazy, random jungle that he was sure comprised the artist's mind (who would want to open that Pandora's Box?), the redhead shrugged.

"Fine by me," he muttered, climbing into his puppet, Hiruko.

Without another word or glance back for fear he would spot Itachi, Deidara fell in step with his partner and the two started off, leaving Kisame to wait on the quiet Uchiha so they could go their own way.

"_Never again._" Deidara thought forcefully, still embarrassed yet aroused and just utterly regretful. "_I will never do that ever again._"

XXX

The raven crossed his arms protectively over his chest as he stared out at the ocean in shock.

What the hell was he supposed to do now? If he'd been an emotional mess before, it was even worse now that Deidara had given him the most provocative, beautiful kiss ever.

Why did this keep happening?

Itachi would work so hard to tightly bind his feelings and hide them away so he could maintain the cold, stoic front he had taken years to perfect, and then that damn artist - that fucking sexy, crazy, impulsive, perfect little terrorist - would just do something adorable or bewitching and Itachi would be confused and frustrated all over again.

All he wanted right now was to feel Dei's lips on his again. But the blonde was gone - or, to be more precise, had ran the hell away from him - and Itachi was well aware it was because he had freaked out and embarrassed the teenager by not acting responsive or even happy about being kissed.

But what was he supposed to? Strip him naked and make passionate love to him on a cliff while their partners waited impatiently for them? Everyone and their mother knew not to mess with the punctual Sasori's schedule without expecting dire consequences.

And besides, Itachi didn't even know if he should or could _ever _make love to Dei, no matter how much he wanted to. And damn ... right now, he definitely wanted to with every fiber of his being if his throbbing dick was any indication.

"_Not now, Itachi. Just don't think about it right now. Save it for later._"

He had to go find the others so they could head out, as per Leader's instructions.

However, when he finally got back to their hideout, it was only Kisame who stood there idly, waiting patiently for Itachi to arrive.

"Where are Sasori and Dei ..dara?" Itachi asked in a bored voice. He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but it was always worth confirming.

Kisame shrugged and with an expert, well-practiced swing replaced his shark sword to the holder on his back.

"They went on ahead. Said we should take a different route," Kisame said.

"_More like Deidara wanted to get away from me as quickly as possible."_ "Sounds good. It's probably time for us to do some surveillance and information gathering anyway. Make sure nothing is going on that we don't know about, but should. We can't always just leave that responsibility to Zetsu."

Kisame nodded.

The first few weeks of their partnership years ago had been a little tense as the proud and dangerous ex-Kirigakure ninja had tested the mettle and strength of what he had considered to be nothing more than a young, inexperienced, scrawny Konoha shinobi. But Itachi had surprised him by turning out to be a much more powerful and less annoying ninja than he had expected. And the two worked perfectly together.

Before long, Kisame had even been forced to admit he had been paired up with the best of the Akatsuki, and Itachi himself held a lot of respect for the strong, intimidating Monster of the Hidden Mist.

The two now had established a cordial vibe between them, and, at times, could even venture into "friendly" territory.

It took about a day and a half to travel from their current location to the Akatsuki's western hideout.

Not looking for trouble or to stir up anything along the way, and completing all intel-gathering with swift competence, they made it to their destination in good time.

When they arrived, no one else was there.

"Big surprise," Kisame muttered under his breath, as they proceeded to the grey, secluded facility, taking note of its cracked windows that displayed pitch blackness and the deathly silence that preceded them.

"You know Leader probably isn't planning on coming anyway," Itachi mentioned dryly. "I don't think he ever leaves the Hidden Rain Village. And of course, Kakuzu and Hidan are going to be late. Hidan's probably running around like a lunatic somewhere, making extravagant sacrifices to Jashin while Kakuzu recounts old money for the hundredth time just for fun."

Kisame chuckled, "You're probably right."

The silent raven could be so deliciously acidic and humorous at times, even as he maintained his perpetual straight face.

"I guess we just wait then."

Eventually the other Akatsuki members did turn up, as afternoon got to the height of its ascent.

Itachi could feel his heart leap to his throat when he caught sight of Sasori, but, amidst its continual noisy thudding, he noticed that the puppet master's partner was not in tow.

"_What the hell? Where is he?"_ Itachi tried to determine how long he had to wait to ask for it not to seem weird or out of place that he was trying to ascertain the answer.

Luckily, he didn't have to.

"Hey, Sasori," Hidan called out from his position sprawled out on the floor. "Where's the crazy, little twerp?"

Sasori glanced around as if he was noticing for the first time that Deidara was missing although his facial expression didn't change. "I thought he'd be here by now. We ran into a little trouble from some Sand ninjas on the way and got split up while fighting them. Deidara said I should go on ahead as he wanted to try out some new material he was working on for a 'grand masterpiece' he's creating ... his words, not mine. I thought I'd let him take them."

Hidan laughed. "What a little oddball. He knows his shit, though, I'll give him that. As long as his 'art is an explosion' that blows people up, I won't complain."

Itachi tried to enjoy the playful banter and mindless talk as they all sat around waiting for their conference, but it got harder and harder as the minutes ticked away in a persistent procession.

"_What the hell is wrong with me? Dei can take care of himself. I have nothing to be worried about. He can be a cocky little showoff, but he's incredibly capable. He'll be here soon._"

Minutes turned into hours.

"_He's fine. He's fine. Stop it. Stop worrying. It doesn't matter anyway... he's not yours to worry about.._"

Hours turned the afternoon into a dismal dusk and then an inky black night.

_"...He's fine ... he's fine..._."

"What the hell?" Hidan complained loudly. "Where is Leader? Why are we not talking? I thought there was some big news, or unveiling for which we were all called here? I'm bored!"

Kakazu came back into the room in time to hear Hidan's words.

"I think we're postponing it until tomorrow," The former Takigakure shinobi said. "Everyone just go to bed or do whatever the hell you want."

He certainly wasn't one to mince words.

Itachi didn't move as the others slowly started to shuffle away. He couldn't move. Where was Dei? And why was he so damn nervous?

He stared down at his dark purple fingernails and tried to move his mind toward anything else.

"He's fine."

Itachi jerked up his head, startled.

Sasori stood close to him, his knowing eyes smoothly observing the Uchiha, his mouth set in a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Itachi asked, trying to act as dismissive and lackadaisical as he could.

"He's an S-ranked ninja, Itachi. It's child's play for him. Literally. Because he is an unruly child, and you know he just likes to play around and will compromise the speed of a mission if it means making a bigger bang in the end."

Itachi merely looked down again and nodded. Sasori wasn't stupid, so there was no reason to keep up pretenses or act like the redhead was off point.

"It's an odd experience to see you affected like this, Itachi," the puppet master continued with a slight scoff. "I really believed you didn't give a damn about anything in the world."

"Well, he is a member of our group, and I value loyalty," Itachi said, unwilling to let the puppet master mock him for these stupid, juvenile "feelings."

"Right. Loyalty." Sasori paused.

Suddenly, they both heard the front door shut with a slam.

"Speak of the devil," Sasori said under his breath.

Itachi waited expectantly, his heart pounding and blood rushing through his head. He tried to make sure he wasn't breathing too heavily as he kept his eyes glued to the doorway.  
Sure enough, Deidara came bursting into the room, his blonde wavy hair flowing about his head in a tousled mess, his face sweaty but alight with a gorgeous winning smile. It faltered only slightly when he saw Itachi sitting on the floor, his legs crossed as he leaned casually against the wall.

Itachi wanted to jump to his feet and shake the stupid terrorist bomber and scold him for being late and tell him never to worry him like that again and then ... But he didn't. He sat still, not even rising to his feet or moving a muscle in his face.

He was too scared to let himself speak.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sasori asked dully.

"I told you! I wanted to experiment!" Deidara said, trying to focus only on Sasori and not on the hauntingly beautiful, but painfully unemotional ninja sitting on the floor, who was simply staring down with those ebony eyes. "It takes time to set the scene. Every movement is like a brush stroke or a manipulation of clay, all necessary to create the perfect work of art, hm."

Itachi was trying to ignore the few bruises and bright red lines scattered across parts of Dei's bare skin. He was trying to ignore the way the artist's small form projected such confident strength, especially when he was invigorated like this. He was trying to ignore how adorable Dei's face got when he was so pleased with himself.

He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, so they couldn't reveal just how torrential and varied were the emotions swirling around in him.

"Why, Sasori no Danna? Were you worried about me?" The blonde teased, gently nudging his older partner.

The redhead merely snorted and scowled at the teen. "As if. You should go get cleaned up. You're a mess."

Deidara rolled his eyes but did as he was told, quickly stealing a glance at Itachi before he left. To his dismay, Itachi seemed absolutely apathetic. He tried to shrug it off as he hurried to find a room to stay in.

Itachi could feel Sasori's eyes on him. He looked up to meet the gaze, unflinching.

Sasori said nothing. Only stared at the calm, collected Uchiha for a few more seconds.  
Itachi hated how much the puppet master could say without verbally talking.

"Good night, Itachi."

"Night."

Once the redhead had sauntered off, Itachi slowly rose to his feet.

Why was he so angry? Or was angry even the right word? He wasn't actually mad at Dei. More just relieved, frustrated, confused, on edge, and insanely horny.

He placed his hands in his pockets and turned to stare out the window for a few minutes, trying to rely on that famed Uchiha ingenuity to help him figure out what to do.

But nothing ... no amount of logic or rationality or wise caution ... seemed to help. He still felt like he was on fire: irritated, uncomfortable, in serious need of relief.

Relief from a sweet, gorgeous teenager.

The debate in his mind was getting him nowhere.

Every time he thought of a perfectly logical explanation for why he should not go screw Deidara, memories of those soft, perfect, sensual lips against his would dance gaily across his mind, taunting him with their immaterial essence and shooting him through with the urge to make the experience real again.

Every time he thought he had made the better decision to stay put, he would remember how damn erotic it had felt to run his hands over the blonde's taut, round ass.

He was going crazy. And it was all Dei's fault. The little fucker.

"Oh, fuck it," he muttered curtly at last, spinning away from the window and walking slowly, steadily toward Dei's bedroom, his mind made up and his focus on one thing, and one thing only.

He was done caring. He was done trying to be rational. There was no way out of this, and regardless of consequences, he knew what he wanted to do.

And he was going to get what he wanted.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright, here we go. Disclaimer: This chapter is long and contains fairly graphic, dirty material. Please don't read if you don't like that kind of stuff. **

**This is the first time I've ****_ever_**** written a yaoi lemon so please, please feel free to give feedback/criticism but do it nicely :) I'm hoping I'll get better each time our wonderful couple does it, but I'm still feeling my way around this kind of stuff.**

**Also, I don't own Naruto.**

XXX

Deidara had just finished taking off his shirt and forehead protector and washing up his minor scrapes when Itachi came bursting into his room, wearing a piercing glare in his obsidian eyes - that unique Uchiha glare that could melt a block of ice in the middle of a snowstorm.

The door slammed behind him making Dei jump slightly. The raven stopped in front of Deidara, arms crossed over his chest and his eyes perusing the blonde, who stood frozen in shock and curiosity.

"Are you alright?" Itachi asked harshly.

Deidara didn't move. Just stared, happy to have Itachi in front of him but entirely confused and, now, literally, petrified.

"I said ... are you alright?" Itachi asked again, even more severely, his eyes boring into the teen, his sharp eyebrows raised in question.

Deidara slowly nodded, still staring at Itachi warily, unsure of what the young man was thinking or planning to do.

"Yeah," the blonde said at last, trying to sound casual. "Just a few cuts and scrapes. No big deal, hm."

"Good," Itachi said coolly, placing both of his pale hands on Deidara's slender shoulders and shoving the young man forcefully against the wall. "Then I guess I'm safe doing this."

"Woah! Itachi! What the hell, hm?" Deidara gasped, scared that the Sharingan user was actually pissed at him and about to beat him up. He could feel the blood rushing to his face as he put up his hands in defense, wishing Itachi would simply go back to being calm, collected and apathetic. "What the fuck are you -"

"Deidara. Shut up," the Uchiha interjected, his steel voice slicing right through the blonde's rambling. "Just ... shut your beautiful mouth for once."

Keeping in time with the torrent of emotions colliding in his body, Itachi swiftly pulled out the band that held some of Deidara's golden locks in a ponytail and knotted his hands in the liberated soft yellow strands to keep the artist's head in place while he looked him squarely in his liquid blue eyes for a few long seconds and then brought his lips crashing down onto Deidara's.

The kiss was fierce, forceful, paralyzing; Deidara felt as if he had just been splashed in the face with sizzling, creamy liquid. But Itachi knew what he was doing. He expertly moved his lips across Deidara's with movements that synchronized violent passion and ethereal affection.

It took no time at all for the blonde to respond with a deep moan. His hands haphazardly wrapped around the tall, slender raven as his mind quickly tried to catch up the fact that this was actually happening. He was afraid he would suddenly wake up and find that none of it was real except for his mounting erection.

Itachi could feel Deidara's fingernails digging into his back through his thin shirt. He savored the feeling, the urgency denoted in the blonde's desperate gropes. He pushed Dei hard against the wall, his knee digging into the artist's thigh.

His lips continued to invade Deidara's mouth, working on and tasting every centimeter. With his tongue, he slowly, sensuously grazed Dei's lips and then plunged further into the delicious cavity. Again, Deidara moaned.

When Itachi, with his brilliant, cautious personality, at last made a decision, he would embrace it with the entirety of his being. This was no different. Now that he had made the choice to have his way with Dei, he was going to devour that gorgeous body and fuck him blind. It felt as if his stomach was swirling and plummeting as he violently made out with the sexy artist. It was a sensation he had not experienced in years and it was sweeping him up into a spiral of hazy, mind-blowing hysteria... and he was just getting started.

Pulling back for a second to let the blonde catch his breath, Itachi whispered seductively, almost savagely, into his ear, "You're all mine, Dei." Immediately, his warm tongue brushed against Dei's ear before his teeth clamped down on it harshly while he pushed his body harder and harder against the wall.

Deidara gasped sharply in response and Itachi would have thought his intensity had frightened the blonde were it not for the fact that the younger man's member was growing increasingly hard and bulging against Itachi's groin.

The raven knew his was in the exact same state.

Moving his hands down to grab Dei's perfect ass, Itachi squeezed tightly while he continued passionately kissing the blonde, using his tongue to work over the full, delicious lips. Dei mirrored the action, battling out his passion with Itachi in a violent, stimulating fight.

Then, slowly lowering his hands to grab the tops of Dei's thighs and thoroughly enjoying the journey along the way, Itachi easily hoisted the smaller, lithe blond up to his waist and carried him over to the bed, where he dropped him down unceremoniously and somewhat forcefully.

He missed the feel of Dei's legs wrapped around him the minute they were gone.

"Remember ... " Itachi said slowly, pointedly, a smirk on his lips as he climbed on top of the blonde's body, supporting himself on all four so he was hovering over the teenager. He loved the way Deidara's face perfectly encapsulated both alarm and utter arousal. "Remember later on ... when I've turned you into a begging, quivering mass of hot flesh ... that you kissed me first. You asked for it."

The artist shuddered slightly but then simply licked his lips and nodded, his big blue eyes larger than ever as they stayed sewed on Itachi's face.

"Good. Besides that, all you need to know is that we will be playing by my rules," Itachi said, pressing his hands into Dei's naked arms and pushing them, maneuvering them, until they were extended over the blonde's head and held in place with Itachi's iron grip.

"You will do whatever I say, when I say it, or, I swear to you, there will be consequences."

Itachi wasn't sure what had come over him. But something had been awakened, something feral, and he wanted to simply ravage Deidara. The fact that Dei seemed to be responding very positively to his dominating persona was helpful for Itachi, as he wanted to make sure this was something the blonde desired as well.

When it came to being a lover, Itachi was incredibly thoughtful. But hey... if he could tease and torment Deidara, slap him around, make him beg and have it drive the little masochist insane with desire? He'd sure as hell take it!

Keeping both of Dei's slender wrists clasped in one hand, Itachi submerged the other in his silky golden hair and yanked it back so he could attack the artist's neck with a barrage of kisses.

Starting at the corner of Dei's jaw and working his way down, Itachi alternated between lightly biting and sensually licking Dei's neck. When Itachi got down to the sensitive skin at the juncture of the artist's neck and shoulder, he began to suck hungrily.

Deidara groaned softly. "Oh, shit, Itachi ..."

Itachi wanted to comment on how that was one of the most beautiful ways he had ever heard his name uttered, but he refrained, for fear it would ruin the mood.

Besides, he was quite sure he would hear it repeated at least a dozen different times in a dozen different variations by the time he was done with Deidara. If he could make each utterance greater in volume and more lust-soaked than the one before it, he would consider this night a success.

"You like that, don't you, my little artist?" Itachi said mockingly with a smirk, before moving his attention down to Dei's flat, muscled chest.

He was laying between Deidara's legs to allow himself better access to the blonde's shoulders and chest and he could feel the pressure of the strong, slender limbs pushing insistently against his body.

He wrapped his mouth around one of the artist's light, pink nipples and flicked it with his tongue. He felt Dei's hips thrust up in response.

"More, Itachi, more, hm," Dei whispered, trying to press his engorged member against Itachi's sexy frame to create the friction he craved.

Itachi tried not to chuckle. He loved seeing his younger friend like this. It was driving him crazy with a colossal carnal craving, not only to get off himself, but also to give Dei the greatest sexual experience of his life.

He let go of Dei's wrists and dug his fingers into the back that arched beneath his touch. The soft skin was so warm to his touch. His lightly dragged his tongue over Deidara's chest, and then journeyed it down to those succulent, carved abs. Damn, he loved this body. He loved the way Dei's six pack became rock hard as it flexed in response Itachi's sensual caresses.

Suddenly, he felt Dei's hands begin to grasp for him and he harshly slapped them away.

"Not yet."

"Come on, Itachi," Dei whimpered. "I've wanted to touch you for months now, hm. Let me have you."

"Dei," Itachi's rich voice held a warning although inside he felt incredibly shocked and touched by that confession. "I said .. we are playing by my rules. And I'm saying ... hands off. Don't make me say it again."

He sat up and roughly shoved his knee into Dei's chest to keep the blonde trapped and still, and then took off his Leaf headband and used it to tie the artist's slim wrists together, all the while staring deliberately into the wide blue pools in front of him to make sure Dei understood that he would be calling the shots.

Dei shut his eyes tightly and let out a soft groan of exasperation, but Itachi could tell he was getting more hot and bothered by the second. He also noticed there was not even a hint of struggle.

"Now, I can do with you what I want," Itachi smirked down at the blonde from his position on top of him. He lightly slapped Dei's beautiful face, just to make sure he had gotten his point across.

"O-okay," Deidara wasn't sure if Itachi knew how much he adored this kind of explosive, crazy, rough love - he didn't know whether Itachi was doing this for himself or to thrill Dei. He hoped it was a combination of both.

His heart was beating so fast, adrenaline pumping through his veins. All he could think about was having the ever living daylights fucked out of him by the raven, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Itachi was going to drive him insane and get pleasure doing it.

After having bound the teen, Itachi let his hands roam all over Deidara's exposed, soft skin, giving himself the freedom to feel and experience what before had been nothing more than immaterial images carved in his mind. He could feel Deidara's hardness pressing against him and was torn with a desire to simply peel off his clothes and screw Dei right away and an even greater desire to draw out the experience, giving them ample time to do all the things they both - he hoped it was both - had been thinking about, dreaming about, fantasizing about for weeks.

Itachi could feel his heart racing as he at last indulged those fantasies, caressing and kissing Deidara's gorgeous body, although he was careful not to bother the stitching on his left chest.

Raking his fingernails into the skin he had just wet with his tongue, Itachi moved his mouth lower and lower along Deidara's torso. He could feel the flesh beneath his lips and hands trembling. Glancing up, he saw that Dei's head was thrown back, every muscle in his body becoming defined as he worked to control his desire.

Itachi let his tongue dance along the waist of Dei's pants as he teased and tormented, kissing and nipping at the smooth, pale flesh.

At last, inhaling deeply but silently, he slipped his fingers into the soft material and pulled the black article down and off of Deidara's slender legs, throwing it carelessly on the floor.

His heart skipped a beat. He was utterly stunned by how flawless the artist was. He knew he was supposed to be in control of the situation, but he couldn't help letting his mouth drop a little and his black eyes widen in approval as he sat back and simply enjoyed getting to look at Dei's unclothed body in its entirety.

"Damn, Dei... you're ... perfect," he whispered, carefully examining and saving mental pictures of each part.

A smile played on Itachi's lips when the artist blushed and looked away, simultaneously uncomfortable and glowing under the raven's appreciative perusal.

But Itachi wasn't willing to let himself smile yet. Not yet. Dei was his. His property. His plaything. The object of his most inexhaustible desire. And he was pretty sure that's exactly what Dei wanted to be.

Taking a deep breath and stifling his genuine affection for the blonde, the raven vocalized these thoughts in a teasing way as his hand reached out to gently stroke Dei's long, hard cock.

"I like you naked, my pretty toy. It suits you best. I like you like this ... laying, naked, ready to be played with, ready to be consumed and used up, by me, and me alone. After all ... You belong to me, don't you, Dei?"

The blonde nodded, his cheeks bright red, his dick throbbing. It occurred to him in that moment that he was entirely unclothed and the raven was entirely clothed. He even had his shoes on, damn it! For some reason, that heightened the blonde's mortification. He felt so exposed and vulnerable ... like he really was Itachi's to be devoured at the raven's will and in accordance to his sexual appetite. Yet, the immense embarrassment only was working to torture him with the most blinding passion that quickly was draining him of all coherent thoughts and leaving in their place a single overwhelming desire.

When Itachi went down on his dick with his mouth, Deidara couldn't help throwing back his head at the electrifying sensation induced by the feeling of his hard member being brushed by the raven's succulent tongue.

"...fuck...," he gasped.

Itachi smiled against the gorgeous cock pressed against his lips, but continued to lick and suck it. He began to massage Dei's balls just for good measure. The adorable blonde shuddered at the touch, his unspoken request clear in the way he thrust his hips up to meet Itachi's roaming mouth.

Unable to control himself, Dei once more reached for Itachi's head with his impounded hands. He had to touch him! Feel him! Itachi's rule just wasn't fair.

However, just as his yearning fingers made contact with the dark, raven locks, Itachi stopped and sat up, fixing the blonde with his severe glare once more.

The Uchiha was both thrilled and nervous that this opportunity had presented itself.

Putting firm grips on the blonde's long hair and his toned arm, Itachi roughly pulled him up from his current position and flung him across his lap.

"I warned you, Dei," Itachi said in a harsh voice.

"I-Itachi! Please ... no," Dei cried out, not sure if he entirely meant it. Or, more precisely, not meaning it at all, but unsure if he wanted to admit to himself that he fucking loved to be manhandled.

Itachi positioned the smaller blonde so his luscious ass was upturned over the his legs and his hard cock was pressing provocatively into the raven's thigh. Itachi cursed himself for not having taken off his pants sooner.

He couldn't believe the excitement he was experiencing from getting to dominate the arrogant, talented artist like this. He couldn't wait to have his way with that beautiful backside.

"Itachi!" Dei cried out again, the word a bit muffled as his face was partially pressed into the rumpled sheets.

"No more talking, Dei. Unless I ask a question," Itachi said, securing the blonde by placing one hand on his lower back before bringing his hard palm down to connect ferociously with Dei's tender, muscled backside. He didn't hold back at all, swinging with uninhibited force.

Deidara sharply inhaled at the stinging blow delivered to his ass.

Itachi quickly slapped his rear two more times, as hard as he could, eliciting soft cries from the blonde with each. He loved the way his strikes left light red marks on those perfect cheeks.

He then slowly, sensuously began to massage the skin he had just injured and was pleased when Deidara started undulating his hips and pressing his impressive dick harder into Itachi's thighs.

"Itachi," he whimpered. "I must have you now, hm. Please... Please, Itachi."

"Dei!" Itachi reprimanded, aborting his tender caresses to the beautiful ass and striking it twice more, this time lower on the sensitive round globes. "Stop. Talking."

The blonde let out a frustrated groan that was saturated with his arousal and only became more so when Itachi once again began to run his fingers over the now pink skin, squeezing and massaging in turn.

Spanking him five more quick painful times, Itachi waited to see if he would get a word out of the Deidara, who was biting down on his lip and tucking his face between his shoulder and his arm, which still was extended above his head and bound to the other.

The adorable blonde only gave stifled yelps and cries.

"That's better. You have to learn to listen to me, my naughty little terrorist."

Deidara nodded his blonde head. Itachi could feel a small patch of moisture grow on his thigh as it became wet by Dei's pre-cum.

It filled Itachi with such indescribable erotic excitement to give Deidara such tortured pleasure.

He continued for another minute or so, striking Dei's gorgeous ass a few times and then fondling it tenderly.

Deidara's hips were thrusting forward harder, but Itachi also could see tears forming in his eyes.

"Now, who do you belong to?" Itachi asked in a low, commanding voice, not sure he could continue hurting the precious teen if it actually made him cry.

"Oh god, you," Deidara replied, softly.

Itachi spanked the vulnerable, pert ass twice more with all his might, this time connecting with Dei's sensitive sit spots.

"Shit," the blonde muttered under his breath, his back arching slightly.

"Same my name, Dei. Who ... do you ... belong to?" Itachi asked again, punctuating the words with swift, hard strokes.

"Itachi. I belong to Itachi," the blonde cried out, louder this time, a bit humiliated but absolutely loving it.

"That's right," Itachi said, laying down one more hard smack and then focusing all his attention on petting the reddened ass cheeks to help alleviate the pain.

He didn't want to go too much longer; this was their first time being together (Itachi was beginning to forget why that was so), and they had a good deal to accomplish tonight.

Itachi hoped there would be plenty of other nights to indulge these fantasies and take them into even deeper, darker depths. But for now, Itachi wanted to just sample and enjoy as much as he could with the striking, flawless artist. His whole body was a delightful delicacy just waiting to be consumed.

"And since you are mine, who will you listen to and obey?"

"Yo- ... Itachi. I'll listen to and obey Itachi," Deidara said, wiping away a few tears on sleeve and still bucking his hips gently in response to Itachi's erotic squeezes and rubs to his stinging ass.

"Good boy," Itachi said with a mocking smirk.

He slowly licked his fingers and then delved between Dei's two luscious cheeks and began to prod and pet the dark pink pucker tucked safely there. Deidara let out a sharp gasp when Itachi slipped a finger inside.

"And what about you, my naughty sweetheart?" Itachi continued, relishing the feeling of Dei's tight anus pushing around his penetrating finger. He added another. "What do you want?"

"I want you, damn it," Dei choked out, his back bending again as he pushed his ass against Itachi's fondling hand. "I want to taste your cock, hm. I want to feel it. I want to fuck you, hm! Please, Itachi. Please. I need you."

He voice trailed off into a tense whimper.

Itachi continued feeling inside Dei, scissoring his fingers to stretch out the tight cavity. Dei's toned, reddened cheeks flexed in response, his body trembling against the Uchiha's legs. Itachi continued for a few more seconds before harshly shoving the blonde off his lap so he fell to his knees in a kneeling position before the authoritative raven.

"Very well," Itachi said, trying to sound bored and in control, but in all reality almost going insane with anticipation and preemptive desire. Oh, if he could only count the number of times he had envisioned what it would look and feel like to be given a blow job by the intoxicating artist.

Deidara's eyes were wide and hungry, his breathing audible as he waited to finally see Itachi's dick. He was horny as hell, but it was enough to be able to suck off the exquisite raven at last.

He tried to sit patiently and wait while Itachi took his time removing his sandals and leg covers, purposely tormenting the breathless artist with his intentional lack of haste.

"Hurry, Itachi," Deidara said softly through gritted teeth, looking almost agonized under the weight of his arousal.

Itachi smirked at him. "A bit impatient are we, you naughty little slut?"

Deidara was a bit startled. Never in his wildest dreams would he have believed Itachi could be this deliciously dirty. And he loved it. He loved that the dazzling raven continually broke through every expectation he had, which consequently made the blonde sink farther into his vast attraction for the Uchiha. His entire body was just a lump of raw urgency waiting to be satiated by his gorgeous, black-eyed lover.

"Why don't you ask nicely, Dei?"

Dei rolled his eyes slightly to try to at least keep up the façade that he wasn't simply someone to be commanded about by Itachi but his heart was racing, his dick was aching, his hands were itching to feel that smooth, pale skin beneath them.

His slight display of an attitude was responded to by a severe look from the raven.

"Dei, don't give me that. Or we can stop right now. Your choice."

Deidara's eyes shot up in panic, not sure if Itachi would actually be so cruel as to do that to him. "No! Please, Itachi! I promise, I'll be good. I'll obey you, hm. Just... don't ..."

His voice trailed off as he devoured the Uchiha's glorious body hungrily with his eyes just in case.

"Then, ask nicely. And do a good job. And I might consider giving you something in return."

"Yes, Itachi," Dei responded, eyes downcast, trying to not become distracted with thoughts of what he hoped that 'something in return' might be. He didn't have to work all that hard, though, because his yearning to just see and taste Itachi's dick continued to loom large in his mind, growing in size the longer he was forced to wait in this delicate, enticing game.

"Please, Itachi," Dei said at last, big blue eyes filled with lust as he looked into the raven's exquisite face.

"Please, what?"

"Please, may I have your delicious cock in my mouth, hm? I want it. I want it so badly, hm. You have no idea how long I've waited, Itachi."

Itachi was trying to decipher what part of the flow of Dei's words was genuine and true and what part was simply being concocted to get him what he wanted.

"_This is no time to be analytical_," Itachi screamed to himself, and then casually slipped his fingers into his pants, and pulled them down in one move with his boxers, pleased to see that the effect of his large, mouth-watering dick coming into view sent a blatant, physical response throughout the blonde.

"Oh, gods," Deidara choked out, his eyes frozen on the long, thick member that extended proudly from between the Uchiha's tantalizing thighs. "Oh, fuck, Itachi. I mean, I knew someone like you couldn't possibly be ... but this ... Oh fuck. Please, please, give it to me, hm."

Itachi leaned back leisurely, thoroughly enjoying how flabbergasted the usually unimpressed artist was in this moment. He supported himself on one slender, toned arm and ran his fingers up the length of his shaft with the other, just to taunt the wide-eyed teen.

"It's all yours, babe," he said at last, grabbing a handful of Dei's blonde locks and forcefully bringing his head toward his erection, which, despite his pretenses of apathy, was pulsing painfully and slick with pre-cum.

Deidara needed no urging. His beautiful mouth immediately opened wide to swallow as much as it could of Itachi's dick, moaning deeply the minute it was inside. He looked up at the raven with the most sultry expression.

Itachi was hit with piercing pangs that shot from his stimulated groin and traveled up through his body to infect him with a sort of hormonal madness.

"Oh ... damn," Itachi muttered, intertwining his fingers into Dei's golden hair as the meticulous artist took his time moving all over the raven's cock with expert strokes of his tongue. What the hell? Did it always feel this good? Was it because it had been close to four years since he'd had his dick sucked or was there something intrinsic about Deidara that gave him the power to affect Itachi in such a sexy, decadent way?

Dei, likewise, was in heaven. Literally. He was pretty sure if there was a heaven or any sort of utopia/afterlife/etc. (he was still pretty skeptical of everything Hidan had to say), it would consist primarily of this. He couldn't think of a word to describe Itachi's cock besides delectable. It more than filled his mouth and he tried to use his hands to work on the remainder, although it was a difficult task considering they still were tied together.

Up and down Dei moved his lips, squeezing his mouth to try and extract every last possible ounce of pleasure from Itachi. He glanced up, hopeful that the excellent face looming over him would display its approval.

He wasn't disappointed, although he was bit taken aback by just how hot it was to see Itachi with that kind of look on his face. It was the best state for that elegant Uchiha face, Deidara decided.

Itachi moaned deeply, pushing his cock harder in to Dei's mouth and down his hot throat. The blonde was sucking so intensely, applying all the right pressure on the raven's hard flesh. And damn, he looked beautiful as he did it.

"That's right, Dei. Mmmm ... Suck me good and hard, my slut," Itachi mumbled as he tried to ram himself deeper. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to memorize each sensation that had his muscles vibrating with delight.

"Mmm, Itachi, you taste so good," Dei replied, the words jumbled as they were muttered around Itachi's shaft. His hands wrapped around the raven's balls, squeezing, rubbing, and then letting the mouths on his hands open wide and partake in the seductive massage.

Itachi felt his chest tighten as the wet laps to his member increased threefold. He hadn't even considered that possibility, and part of him was happy he hadn't, because the result was unexpectedly mindblowing. His grip on Dei's hair became tighter as he thrust his hips up, not even caring if he choked the artist, just needing more. So much more.

"Oh, fuck, Dei. Don't stop," he groaned, opening his eyes slightly and enjoying the adorable look on Dei's face as he looked up at Itachi through his lashes, his cheeks flushed and his lips dripping wet as they expanded around the Uchiha's rock-hard member.

It had been too long for Itachi. He couldn't stop himself from quickly ascending up, darting toward climax at break-neck speed. It didn't matter. He could cum now and his pleasure for the night definitely wouldn't stop there.

Dei tried not to smile with delight as he watched Itachi slowly being submerged in his pleasure and about to drown into an intoxicating orgasm. The fact that it was he who was producing that look, the quivering flesh, those erotic groans, made him ecstatic and he determined to give Itachi every single thing he deserved.

With that goal in mind, he began to massage Itachi's balls and suck up and down his long shaft more ferociously.

"Damn ... Dei ... don't. .. oh, fuck." With one final shudder and an arch of his back, the handsome Uchiha let himself explode into the Akatsuki artist's hungry mouth.

Dei quickly swallowed up every last bit of the creamy substance, savoring this flavor that would forever be linked to his immense adoration for Itachi and this perfect moment.

"_Now ... this is art_," he thought fondly, milking Itachi's firm, thick cock until it was dry, while the raven maintained his death-grip on the blonde's head.

After a moment of simply sitting still and panting, Itachi slowly opened his eyes to look down at the naked blonde with a confident, teasing smile.

"That was pretty good, Dei," he jeered with a wink, although he was pretty sure that experience was unparalleled and he was positive it had everything to do with the gorgeous little face that stared up at him and the azure eyes that immediately became indignant at the words.

Dei frowned and shook his head at the raven's insinuation, although he knew that if Itachi would have said anything else it would not have been as perfect ... it wouldn't have been the arrogant, irresistible Itachi. After all, he was fully aware that he was whipped and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Come here," Itachi said, his voice softening as he placed both hands on Dei's face and leaned in to kiss him passionately, his tongue not hesitating before it raided the sweet mouth.

"_Damn that Uchiha!"_ Deidara thought as he was lost at once in a tangle of sexual frustration and stomach-twisting bliss. The raven knew how to play the artist like a fiddle, pulling and plucking all the right strings to have the blonde caught up in a complicated dance of varied emotions that all had to do with the Uchiha, from complete, unadulterated love to an erotic obsession and respect bordering on jealousy.

"Itachi," Dei whispered through his gasps for air when Itachi pulled back.

The ebony eyes already were again dark and hooded with escalating arousal. His striking cock still stood erect. "Since you were such a good boy, I think you deserve a reward, don't you, my sweetheart?"

It would never get old for Deidara to hear that cherished word: "my." It made him melt and for some reason inflicted with him with an almost melancholy joy. He nodded quickly, once again becoming awakened to the fact that every inch of him felt like it was being pinched. He needed some kind of release soon.

Itachi smiled, lifting the blonde to his feet and then pushing him down gently so he was lying prostrate, his lightly tanned flesh looking even more appealing when tossed among the perfectly white sheets.

Itachi quickly stepped out of his pants and pulled his shirt up over his head so that he was left only wearing his necklace about his throat.

"Oh my god, Itachi," Deidara moaned. " Why? Just why? You are the most fucking sexy creature I've ever seen, hm. Please, please, fuck me now. I've been a good slut and given everything you wanted! I'm starving for you, hm. You are a fucking masterpiece and you have to give yourself to me now."

Itachi laughed softly, trying not to blush at the gushing compliments as he pushed Dei's legs apart and climbed between them.

"You know the rules, babe. You're mine and I will give it to you when I want," the raven said, tightly gripping the blonde's luscious ass in both of his hands. Carefully, slowly, he once again to play around with the toned flesh.

Dei moaned, thrusting gently and pushing his backside up toward the raven.

"Mmm, you're hungry for something in your ass, huh?" Itachi mocked, spreading the cheeks and lowering his mouth toward the tight hole tucked between them. With his lips a few inches away, he paused, letting his warm breath trickle from his anxious mouth and permeate the snug space between Dei's taut buttocks, enjoying how the pink pucker constricted as it was hit with the warm air, and then Itachi's tongue.

"Oh, shit," Deidara gasped into the blankets pressed around his face.

Itachi worked over the tight hole, making it slick as he licked and nipped about the rim. He could feel Dei's ass flex inside his fondling hands.

"Oh fuck, Itachi, oh my god," Dei mewled with pleasure, his small, perfect backside grinding against Itachi's mouth.

Itachi loved getting to make the brash ninja whimper and moan like this. The fact that Dei was so vocally expressive also was simply adorable, just like everything else about the stunning artist.

Extending his tongue, Itachi thrust it into the narrow space, masterfully pushing against the constricting walls inside and pushing Deidara into a frenzy.

He continued titillating the artist for a few more minutes, using his tongue and then his finger, giving Dei enough pressure to prove utterly stimulating, but not enough to culminate into ecstasy's apex.

And it was driving Dei mad. He was thrusting fervently against whatever Itachi would give him. His skin was flushed and feverish. His moans had become fanatical cries that seemed almost pain-ridden and included mangled words that roughly sounded like Itachi's name or hoarse curses. It wasn't until he was nearly screaming that his words became crystal clear.

"Itachi! Please! Fuck me hard. Put yourself inside of me!"

"Only if you ask nicely, Dei," Itachi answered seductively, lightly biting the soft flesh of the blonde's ass as he continued wiggling his fingers inside the teen to get him fully aroused.

"Damn it, Itachi!" Dei said in a voice that was strangled and urgent. "Please, please, fuck me with your sexy cock, hm! I can't take it anymore ... I can't ... I can't ... please..."

Giving Dei a gentle slap to his ass, Itachi pulled back, preparing to penetrate the artist fully.

He just wanted to be able to look at those perfect round cheeks shake as he pounded the blonde.

Pausing for just a second, Itachi grabbed a pillow from the top of the bed and slipped it beneath Deidara's lower stomach, both to help prop him up and provide Itachi an easier passage into him, and also to give the blonde something soft to rub his erection against while the raven rammed into him from behind.

Which he did. Hard.

The second his hard cock went into that tight space, Itachi felt enraptured.

The sight before him only helped. Dei's legs were spread to give his raven-haired lover room to kneel between them. Itachi kept one hand placed in the middle of Dei's arched back and the other was wrapped firmly around the teen's hip, his long fingers pushing into the hot, quivering flesh. Dei's chest was smashed against the bed and his head was turned to the side, giving Itachi just enough of a look at the beauty it displayed as it became contorted with insane pleasure.

Itachi thrust himself in and out of Dei from behind. He loved both the sight and sensation produced as the blonde would flex his ass slightly every time he pulled away.

"Oh damn, Dei," the raven choked out, following up the words with a heavy groan.

Deidara was panting heavily, his extended arms taut, his hands clenching fistfuls of the sheet that had become damp with their combined sweat.

"Itachi. Oh, fuck. Itachi!" Deidara had never felt this fulfilled. Never. No man with whom he had screwed had ever filled him in this way, with this intensity, with this passion. Probably helped that he was head over heels in love with Itachi in a way he never had been before, either.

The Akatsuki artist continued to cry out the Uchiha's names, sometimes loud and clear, other times in broken, ragged pieces.

The bed beneath them shook and creaked as Itachi continued to pound Dei's ass. His grip on the blonde became tighter as he felt himself nearing climax. Grunting softly, he pushed himself deeper inside his sexy lover. This kind of pleasure almost seemed suffocating. His head felt clogged and ready to burst. He could barely breathe. Every muscle was rigid.

"Dei. Oh, Dei," Itachi gasped, increasing the speed and force with which he penetrated the blonde. He loved the feel of those toned ass cheeks pressing against his engorged cock.

"Itachi ... I'm gonna' ... Oh! Fuck! Itachi!"

The blonde was nearly screaming now, his voice crescendoing in proportion to his exponentially mounting pleasure. His vision had gone almost entirely black.

A few more thrusts in and out of his tight anus and the feeling of Itachi's warm cum shooting inside and filling him up did the trick.

"Shit. ... Oh, shit. Dei!"

Electrifying ecstasy shot through both of the young men as they broke through the barrier and spilled out over the top.

Both intentionally focused on savoring every single glorious stroke, every single touch and sensation as they came back down slowly together.

At last, Itachi pulled out of Dei and let his body collapse next to him, arms outstretched, head thrown back and eyes closed tightly as sweat trickled down his forehead and neck.

Dei did the same, simply letting go of his control over his muscles and allowing himself to crumble and spread out toward the raven. Through all the haze of the unprecedented euphoria he had just experienced he could sense his desire to say three words he desperately wanted and needed Itachi to know... "_I love you_" ... But he bit his tongue, repeating the phrase over and over again in his mind to satisfy himself. He didn't want to risk pushing the intimidating raven too far, too fast. He knew he was bullet that most people couldn't keep up with, and he didn't want to shoot down this dream of his that had just begun.

"That was incredible, hm," Dei mumbled at last in lieu of a declaration he was sure would freak out Itachi. His eyes traveled over the Uchiha's outstretched body that glistened with sweat. Damn, but it was awe-inspiring.

"It really was," Itachi replied with a sigh, running his hand through the black hair that had become matted to his forehead. "We should have done that a long, long time ago."

Deidara chuckled, thrilled, warm, content. "We really should have, hm. We have a lot of lost time to make up for, Itachi-kun."

Itachi turned his head to look into the blonde's beautiful face. He lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "Hmm, I guess we do."

Deidara nodded, feigning a reproachful face, a playful pout on his full, pink lips. "It's your fault, Itachi. I would've fucked you the minute I saw you, hm. You're the one who had to take so damn long to make up his mind."

Itachi sat up. He gently stroked the blonde's adorable face while considering those words thoughtfully for just a second before breaking out in to a sly smile.

" Well, then, my sexy little artist, since it was 'my fault' ... why don't you make yourself comfortable and I will give you the most incredible blow job of your life that I _swear_ will make up for every ... single ... second I made you wait."

XXX

Pleasure was exhausting. But blissfully so.

Worn out, the two young Akatsuki members now simply laid still, their bodies tangled like a vine, their hair mixing and merging as it fanned out all over the place and their chests gently rising and falling as their spent bodies settled down.

Of course, Deidara was the one who was under Itachi's arm, lying his blonde head against the Uchiha's muscular chest, absentmindedly tracing Itachi's necklace with his fingers, while he sighed in contentment.

With one hand, Itachi delicately stroked the blonde's back. His eyes were closed as he tried to just enjoy the moment and not think about its implications. He hadn't felt this good in an extremely long time.

He wasn't sure that he deserved to feel this good, or if it was wise to let Dei make him feel this good, but he couldn't find it in himself to complain right now.

"Mmmmmm," Deidra sighed, lightly kissing Itachi's chest and working up his courage. "Itachi?"

"Yeah, Dei?"

"I-I just ... ummm... just want you to know ..."

Itachi loved it when the loquacious blonde became tongue-tied around him. It made him feel powerful and loved. "Know what?" He prodded gently.

"Uh ...Just that ... I really like you, Itachi," Dei said softly, chickening out at the last minute.

Itachi laughed softly. "Well, no shit."

Deidara playfully slapped the raven, hoping this was just the start of something and that an opportunity would present itself later on for him to be able to say what he had wanted to. "Stop laughing, hm! I don't mean like that ... I mean, I like, actually, really, really ... like you, hm."

There were so many thing Itachi wanted to say: "_You're perfect and everything I could ever desire_," "_I'm falling so hard for you, Dei_," "_I want to be with you so badly and I want to be with your forever, but ..." _But should he? Brevity seemed like the best option when this obscuring fog of confusion still surrounded their brand new and unexpected relationship. ... Were they in a relationship now?

Still, he knew the blonde deserved to be given something, some sort of insight to where he was at and what he was thinking, even if he was unwilling to admit the breadth and depth of his true feelings just yet.

Itachi slipped his finger under Dei's face, gently tipped it up and passionately kissed his mouth for a long moment before whispering with a genuine smile, "I like you, too, babe."


	10. Chapter 10

**This is just sort of morning-after fluff. I had planned to make more "action-oriented" stuff take place in this chapter, but by the time I had gotten to where I left off, it already was pretty long. So I just decided to save more of the plot development for next chapter and use this to mold Itachi and Dei's relationship a bit more. That being said, I already have a good deal of the next chapter either written or thought out so I will be much more diligent and hasty about updating. I also was spending the past week with my family who I only get to see once per year, so I was a bit remiss when it came to any sort of fanfiction work. Now back in the real world, that won't be the case :).**

**Thanks so much for the reviews. Whether critical or complimentary, they all mean a lot. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

XXX

Deidara awoke alone, the sheet on his bed tangled around his bare midsection. A thousand thoughts that had gone stagnant, awaiting his consciousness, now gleefully took this opportunity to bombard him.

Among them all he felt two battling the most prominently. One was simply a sense of unblemished joy as he thought over and over again, "I slept with Itachi," "_I _slept with _Itachi_," "I _slept with _Itachi." It was a sort of innocent awe and happiness, the kind only achieved when a person obtains unlikely intimacy with the object of their most sacred worship.

But then a contradictory, darker one fought back: _…"or did I?" …_ cynical doubt that such an event had even taken place. Surely he had dreamed up the whole thing in his overly active, insanely imaginative mind. _"After all_," he thought, reaching his arm out to the empty side of the bed to ascertain this fact, "_I am alone_. _And it's Itachi Uchiha. It's not possible."_

A noise from his bathroom caused the now anxious artist to sit up; he clenched his sheets in hopeful grips, his heart thumped as he waited, breathlessly.

Itachi walked out. Naked. His beautiful, ivory body taking on an even more poignant luminescence as it captured the light of an immature sun, still bobbing its heavy head as it rose slowly in a pre-morning awakening.

Dei just stared, not caring what sort of satisfaction that gave to the proud Uchiha, not caring that it once again established the dynamics of their relationship and set in stone that he always would be on bottom and Itachi – his muse, his idol, his god – on top.

The raven's hair had been brushed and pulled back once again into a low ponytail, his long black bangs the only fitting frame for a face that exquisite. He stopped walking and waited when he caught sight of Dei's mesmerized blue eyes watching his every movement with unparalleled observance and sensitivity. Itachi didn't flinch, the byproduct of a perfectly molded sense of security in who he was.

Dei was soaking it all in: Itachi's toned, limber form hid inexhaustible amounts of strength and power that were not diminished by the lithe, graceful nature of his outward appearance, and that, to Dei, was incredibly sexy. He studied the slender, toned arms; the shoulders and neck that were decked out only in Itachi's metal necklace; the flat white chest, trailed with miles of impressively defined abs that led to – Dei caught himself licking his lips. He let his eyes linger on Itachi's perfect hips and the glorious body part between them that unashamedly made no effort to contain itself. Finally, his eyes dissected and savored the lines, angles, and curves of Itachi's athletic legs. All of it was covered in satiny skin that looked like it should taste like vanilla.

He finished by looking up, reverently, into the onyx eyes that were watching his perusal.

"It's not often you're tongue-tied," Itachi noted playfully, his lips curving into that infuriating smirk. He started walking again and came over to the bed.

"Whatever," Dei responded with a scoff, trying to hide the hard bulge beneath the sheets near his hips that he knew didn't lie. "I have plenty to say, hm. How about: you're an arrogant prick who thinks too highly of himself? Or, you may be the –"

His words were stopped short when Itachi, having arrived at the side of the bed, fluidly stooped down, gripping Dei's chin in his hand and lifting up his face to meet Itachi's descending lips, all without skipping a beat. Damn, the power and control of it all, the self-confident assumption that Dei wouldn't be able to resist, were exactly the things that Dei found most maddening and intoxicating.

Dei hungrily kissed him back, not wasting a second before snaking his arms around Itachi's muscular stomach and reaching up to dig his nails in the raven's shoulder blades.

In turn, Itachi heightened the intensity of the kiss, meticulously using his tongue to venture through Dei's parted lips and brush it artfully against the blonde's own.

"Mmmm," Dei moaned, getting a stronger grip on the Uchiha and pulling him down into the bed on top of him. Immediately his legs wrapped around Itachi.

"Dei," Itachi whispered, his voice holding a hint that Dei wouldn't like what he had to say next. "I really, really would love to, but …"

The blonde shinobi didn't want to hear it. He clasped the pale, handsome face in his insistent hands and kissed him again, using every trick in the book he could think of to silence Itachi. He moved over the perfect lips with expertise, using just enough tongue, and then gently biting down on the raven's bottom lip. In the same second, he let one of his hands drop from the Uchiha's cheek and slipped it between their bodies to grab hold of Itachi's thick cock, which, he noted happily, was very nice and erect.

Itachi moaned deeply, which thrilled Dei to no end. If he could make Itachi do something against his better judgment (which always was impeccable, damn it!), Dei would be utterly elated. He kept kissing the raven hard and furiously until the older Akatsuki member pulled back once more.

He tried to keep his voice even and dull, which was a hard task with Dei's slender hand wrapped around his cock. "We can't…." His words jammed at the back of his throat before he could get them out when he suddenly felt something wet and arousing on his pulsing member and he realized Dei was using the mouth on his hand for a purpose much more sinful than its original.

"Dei," Itachi continued after a few seconds, his voice sounding horny and reproachful all at once. "We can't. Everyone will be waking up soon. They might hear."

"You think they didn't hear last night?!" Dei responded flagrantly.

Itachi thought back through those perfect memories. "…shit." He really had been paying no attention to the loud creaking of the bed or the volume of the sexy noises being emitted by the precious blonde. "Hopefully not. Maybe you shouldn't be so loud."

"Maybe you shouldn't fuck so well!" Dei shot back, not at all offended by Itachi's calm retort. He smiled pointedly up into Itachi's face as he twisted a piece of the silky, black hair around his finger. "Besides, Itachi-kun, if I remember correctly, you weren't trying to stifle your moans either, hm. Or you just suck at it."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly, but he knew, despite his desire to scoff and disagree, that Deidara was right. He had been surprisingly vocal in his approval of Dei's love-making.

"You know that kind of talk isn't going to get you what you want," the raven responded.

"I'm sorry, Itachi." Dei could feel himself growing harder. He loved Itachi's powerful nonchalance, both for what it symbolized intrinsically and also because of the challenge it presented to the ornery artist when it came to his task of seducing the 20-year-old. However, he was pretty sure he was catching onto Itachi's weakness. He twisted around so he was lying on his stomach, letting the sheet fall off his body, and instantly began to grind his hips and backside against Itachi's groin. He was rewarded with the sexy sound of Itachi sharply inhaling. Dei saw the raven's strong arms buckle on either side of himself as they suddenly struggled to support his lean body in its increasingly aroused state.

Satisfied, but not fully, Dei continued the teasing motions, pushing his ass up and moaning seductively. He felt Itachi push back and he looked over his shoulder.

Itachi's eyes were dripping with lust and sewed to the perfect, creamy orbs sliding up and down on either side of his swollen cock.

"You little fucker," Itachi whispered tensely but affectionately, pushing himself deeper between the cheeks, though he knew he shouldn't.

"C'mon, Itachi," Dei cooed seductively. "Please? I want you're long, hard cock, hm. Don't you want me? Don't you want to fuck your little slut?"

Itachi's quick, short breaths were audible. "You really are a needy little slut, aren't you?"

Dei knew he was winning. Itachi's words were entirely playful and mocking, but not at all condemning. The teenager felt a sharp slap to his backside, causing him to wince and grow harder all at once. It was one more sign Itachi was going to play this game. Dei smiled, gratified, and continued to make the deep, sensuous noises that he suspected, combined with the sight of his tight ass, could possibly be the taciturn, emotionless Uchiha's undoing.

And indeed, Itachi could feel himself coming undone and he wondered that the abrasive, wild artist had this uncontrollable effect on his body. Itachi felt his resolve beginning to unspool like unruly thread, being pulled and unwound by the machinations of the alluring shinobi who was writhing and wriggling his ass beneath him.

The raven-haired ninja couldn't help licking his dry lips quickly as he felt a scorching heat licking similarly throughout his insides. That was fine. Itachi would give in, he decided. But not before he had propelled himself back into dominance with an equally unnerving play that would leave Dei flustered. He pressed his body against the smaller one cupped beneath him and gently kissed the bronzed skin of the terrorist bomber's shoulders and neck, enjoying the way their separate flesh sort of just melded together so comfortably. He bit Dei's neck.

"You're so damn hot, Dei," he growled.

The bomber blushed and shuddered with pleasure, still very unfamiliar with compliments from the older, more talented Akatsuki member.

It was the most honesty Itachi could venture. Someday maybe he would feel safe enough to issue forth all kinds of soft sentiments and confessions that made their confessor truly naked and vulnerable, but right now he still was warily toying with unabated but deliciously dirty fornication and that in and of itself was a big step for the withdrawn Itachi. He would enjoy this station a little while longer before possibly traveling further.

The raven snapped up quickly, ferociously slapped the lovely, creamy cheeks beneath him and then fisted a clump of Dei's hair, pulling along the lithe, agile body as he moved to a kneeling position. The artist gasped a little but let his body be yanked around by Itachi until he was sort of bunched on his knees in front of the Uchiha. Keeping the blonde head in place, Itachi let his swollen cock sway next to Dei's lips, just out of his reach. The Uchiha loved the way those plump, rosy lips opened hungrily and the wet, pink tongue shot out in wanton desperation to get a sensuous taste. He would never tire of having the 17-year-old as his lover, Itachi was positive.

"Tell me, my naughty sweetheart, why I should let you taste my cock when I explicitly told you we couldn't do this right now? Seems to me like you deserve to be punished for disobedience instead."

He kept his fingers twisted tightly in the silk-like gold strands.

A wide array of emotions took over Deidara's face, some consecutively, some concurrently; his cheeks flushed with embarrassment and arousal, his mouth hung open, panting and obviously wanting, and his eyes were both pleading and anxious. Itachi had to restrain himself from kissing his lover, who looked so cute when he got all riled up like this. Circling his thumb and index finger around his dripping length, Itachi positioned it close to Dei's sweet mouth, taunting him by keeping the gorgeous dick just out of reach a few seconds longer, letting the artist suffer the misery of his patience being stretched thin.

At last the Uchiha let out a bored sigh, although his entire body was aching with carnal longing.

"I suppose my shoving my cock down your throat and fucking your mouth will have to suffice," he said coolly. He let up his grip on Dei's head just enough to give the artist mobility to crane out his neck further and take Itachi's engorged dick into the wet heat of his hungry mouth. He immediately began to suck at the hard flesh like it was candy, licking it up one side and then the other and all over, keeping his lips tightly attached at all time.

Itachi wasn't sure where he was finding it in himself to get aroused and able to cum yet again, especially after the night they had. But he couldn't stop himself from having his libido awakened once more by the desperate but smooth work of the artist. Damn, the blonde was good. Itachi let his head fall back a little and he closed his eyes for a second. Somehow, this was even better than last night. How was that possible?

Deidara pulled back a little, looked up at Itachi with the most seductive and naughty bedroom eyes, and then slurped up the combination of pre-cum and saliva dripping down Itachi's glorious, shiny erection. He moved down to take the silky smooth skin of Itachi's ball sack between his lips, inhaling the Uchiha's unique scent as he buried his face among all the lovely things positioned in that area.

"Damn, Dei," Itachi tried to sound patronizing but there was an underlying moan in each of his words. "You're so good at this. Suck me harder, babe."

The artist complied, sending more sharp thrills throughout the divine body of his love, which was becoming tense, each muscle straining under the massive weight of physical pleasure.

While Dei was working over his throbbing member with ease and skill, Itachi took the time to feel up the artist's own luscious body. He took one pale finger and delicately traced Dei's shoulder blades that were rolling forward and back with each reaching jerk of his neck and head. Itachi then trailed his finger down Dei's spine, admiring how sexy the slender bomber's toned back looked with the muscles moving freely beneath luxurious, lightly tanned skin. He let the rest of his fingers and palms join in as he rubbed and stroked, memorizing each crevice and contour. It was insane to him how much he wanted to touch Dei. If he had been asked if that was a possibility even a month ago, he wouldn't have even graced the question with an answer. But now, he wanted to experience Deidara – every single part and aspect of him – with every one of his senses to the maximum of their capacity.

Pulling Dei off his cock, Itachi couldn't help letting out a ragged chuckle when the blonde moaned, aggravated, and looked up at him with his gorgeous face set in a pout.

"We don't have much time," Itachi explained, running his hand down Dei's arm and then lifting it to kiss the slender wrist with his mouth. He then commanded, "Lay on your back, Dei. I want to look at your face while I fuck you."

He already was helping the artist get in that position even as he spoke. He lifted Dei's legs up so they bent slightly and the tops of his calves rested on either side of Itachi's shoulders. Gripping Dei's thighs, he made sure the breathless teen was comfortable before penetrating himself deeply between those gorgeous ass cheeks with his cock, lubricated with Dei's own spit.

"Itachi," Dei gasped automatically at the feeling of his tight entrance being violated oh-so-favorably by the magnificent Uchiha without much warning. He was still a bit sore from last night, but the pain simply merged its way seamlessly into his pleasure, augmenting it with the hard evidence it provided that he had made love to Itachi not once, but multiple times.

"Harder, Itachi," Dei begged, his azure eyes already beginning to glaze over with lust. "C'mon, hm. Harder!"

Itachi didn't mince words, and he didn't waste actions when he had a goal in mind. He let himself dig deep into Dei's heat fast and hard. He knew he already had been stimulated almost to release so it wouldn't take long for him to burst again into that damn delectable ass, especially with Dei staring up at him with such passion, white teeth clamped down on his full lower lip.

However, he knew Dei hadn't been given the same foreplay. He waited until he heard Dei give a short, pleasure-filled shout, signifying he had hit the prime spot for orgasm-inducing bliss. Dei's legs tightened around Itachi's neck, shoulder, and the sides of his jaw. Knowing the clenched slender legs, along with the help of his fingers gripping Dei's slim thigh so hard they were sure to leave five bruises, would keep the writhing artist in place, Itachi began to play with the hard, neglected dick resting on Dei's lower stomach.

Dei let out a deep moan that in and of itself almost plummeted Itachi over the top. But he held back, trying to rid himself of his sexual frustration in other ways. His lips silently formed the bomber's name, the feel of the word on his tongue precious and special although it remained forever captured in that voiceless state.

The soft sounds of skin smacking skin filled the room as Itachi filled Dei, pushing in his cock to its hilt, waiting for a second to feel the flex of Dei's butt and then pulling out. The teen was gasping and moaning, wriggling and constricting the muscles throughout his ass around and against Itachi's sinful hardness. When Itachi began to fondle his cock, the artist knew it was only a matter of seconds. He began to whisper, then cry out Itachi's name in frantic repetition.

Itachi was beginning to believe that being intimate with Dei was a form of inebriation for him. Everything became obscure and disorienting, but also bigger and brighter all at once. It was as if all his nerves were standing at attention, waiting for even the slightest tap to send them into a mind-altering frenzy. The layer of flesh under his skin was smoldering, but no matter how the heat built up it wouldn't, couldn't, didn't dissipate. It stayed collected near his skin, in a constant, impatient state of waiting to be dispelled with a wash of sweet relief. This must be what people were identifying when they used such trite phrases as "the fire of passion." And it made the experience all the more confusing and sexy to the brilliant Uchiha that he could not decipher why on earth Dei had this effect on him.

"Itachi... Oh, fuck, I-Itachi, hmmm… I-ta-chi! ITACHI!"

Every sound of his name being spoken in that way – a groan, a plea, an expression of worship - was a powerful, single-purposed current pushing, pulling Itachi deeper into a state of ecstasy, drunk on the mystical prowess of the beautiful person thrusting his hips up to meet Itachi's in a forceful action that symbolized not only a physical, but emotional connection for the two. When he felt Dei's legs clamping tighter and quivering and saw the sticky, white substance being pumped from the artist's pulsating dick at the same time his face took on the sacred expression of one experiencing the almost supernatural sensation of sexual climax, Itachi was forced to let go.

Thrusting his hips one last time, connecting almost savagely with Dei's most perfect asset, Itachi finally muttered Deidara's name, although it came out more like the strangled cry of, "Augh - Dei! Dei!"

Dei could feel the tight space formerly occupied by the length of Itachi's dick suddenly inhabited with the raven's sperm, and it felt wonderful. It slowly dripped all over the curves of Dei's warm, abused skin. But more glorious than all of that was Itachi's face. Itachi's exquisite face revealing a sort of taboo, intense pleasure. Dei was exhilarated by the inviolable satisfaction that he, and he alone, had made it look that way – _could_ make it look that way. The raven's eyes were shut tight so his inky lashes could brush his cheeks, which were covered in a heat-induced blush, his enticing lips set in almost a snarl, his black hair hanging sexily across his face and a few strands sticking to the soft skin because of the sheen of sweat covering it.

"Have you seen Itachi?"

The muffled voice of Kisame coming from behind Dei's door did all the work of prematurely snapping the two Akatuski members out of their just reached euphoric state. Both faces shot toward the door. Having softened enough for the movement to not be painful, Itachi quickly pulled out of Dei and noiselessly began to wipe them both with a clean part of the sheet, which at this point was hard to come by.

"Nope." That curt reply said in a dull voice. Had to be Sasori. "I can't find Deidara either."

"Just follow the damage," Kisame retorted loudly and sardonically. "It's not unusual for Itachi to go wandering off by himself. But the crazy kid is always around making noise somewhere."

The two youngest members of the criminal organization stood as still as statues, trying not to make a noise.

However, when Dei glanced at Itachi, the entire scope of the situation, from the awkwardness, the sudden anxiety and the desperate need for secrecy, to the fact that it was something the two of them were sharing together, suddenly struck him as kind of humorous and perfectly delightful. It didn't help that the usually controlled Uchiha was looking a little caught off guard, but also mischievous – like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar – and it gave Dei a quick look at a rare side of Itachi that no one had seen in the past few years. It inducted into their relationship an entirely new aura, a fresh layer of shared intimacy. The blonde clasped his hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh.

Itachi's eyes darted toward the playful teenager and he looked at him like he was crazy for just a second, but there was something infectious about the inviting mirth in Deidara's eyes that caused the raven to let out a rare, involuntary smile as he brought up a finger to his lips in an urgent gesture to remind the artist to be quiet. Dei nodded. They were in this together now.

"Deidara's probably just sleeping still," Sasori said.

"We're meeting soon. Want to wake him?"

Large black eyes met larger blue eyes in a flash and Dei had to press his hand harder to his mouth to suppress the laughter. Itachi started to snatch up his discarded clothes with unusual haste. Yet, even a little startled and trying to be quick, he somehow managed to move his perfect, pale body with its normal agility and grace. Dei couldn't help watching him, still reveling in the joy of this peak flashpoint in their relationship.

This is why he believed wholeheartedly in the artistic beauty of single, solitary moment: Because something unexpected or course-altering could happen in an instant and the effects or the way people responded were so raw, natural and unplanned. And usually they'd only last for a moment, especially in the ninja world where people could quickly bounce back into routine and emotionlessness like a boomerang. But forever that unit of time, where a single cause led to a very real, material effect whose utter authenticity was magnificent, had existed and could be worshipped. Such was the splendor of this moment: he had seen an authentic, natural reaction from Itachi and it was such a unique, priceless and enjoyable look into the usually indecipherable Uchiha's true nature.

"I'll give him five more minutes," They heard the redheaded puppet master respond. "I guess you should go find the Uchiha. Don't want to keep Leader waiting."

Kisame grunted his acquiescence, and Dei and Itachi, who was standing still once more with his hands frozen on the rim of his pants, could hear the sound of the shark nin as he walked away, his heavy steps thudding on the solid ground like normal. Once they heard the sound of Sasori's departing footsteps, much softer and harder to discern, both began to move with ease again and Deidara let out the laughter he had been trying to keep down.

"It's not funny, Dei," Itachi responded in his thick, serious voice, although his eyes said otherwise. "That was a close call. We have to be more careful."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, hm," Deidara said with a dismissive wave of his hand and a cheeky grin at Itachi. His heart was suddenly gripped once again with the desire to share his true feelings with the Uchiha, and he knew if he didn't keep things light and frothy, he might do so. "I get it, Itachi. We have to be careful and we will be."

"I'm serious, Dei," Itachi said, his eyes looking right into the artist's with a stern warning in the onyx orbs, although his face was devoid of its usual severity and instead soft and definitely affectionate. He knew his best bet at securing the unpredictable bomber's cooperation was to issue a threat that he would not do this again if word got out, but he couldn't bring himself to try so petty and cruel a tactic. Besides, he knew Dei wasn't dumb and the bomber surely realized how uneasy and uncomfortable it could make things for them if their fellow criminals found out.

"I promise, Itachi," Dei said, suddenly as serious as the Uchiha. It kind of threw Itachi off guard. "I promise, hm. We will be as careful and quiet as we need to be. Whatever you say goes. Just … just promise me this isn't the last time, hm."

Like butter over a stove. That's how quickly Dei could soften Itachi's heart. However, the raven already had started down the path toward gathering his composure and putting on his thick, blank shell, so he merely nodded. He might have decided to screw Dei, but he had not decided to turn this into anything more substantial … although who the fuck was he kidding? It was more. It was definitely more. That was clear in the way Dei smiled despite the marginally small size of Itachi's response.

Damn, the blonde's affection toward him was unconditional and that kind of bond was something Itachi only had felt a handful of times before in his entire life and something he had decided four years ago that he would never be part of again.

Just as he was about to leave, Itachi felt his hand stalling on the door knob. Before he could stop himself he turned back toward Dei, smiling gently once more in spite of himself. He wasn't sure what he was going to allow himself to say so he simply waited to hear what would come out of his mouth. "… This is far from the last time, sweetheart. Promise. You're irresistible to me."

That was enough. Without waiting to see how his words would impact the wide-eyed artist, the dark, guarded Uchiha slipped through the door, prepared to play the part of the indifferent, cold Akatsuki genjutsu expert once more.


	11. Chapter 11

**So, I think I might have slightly messed with the actual timeline of the canon ... I'm not sure ... but hopefully you all can just go with it. **

**Rei, Man on the Moon, and Seasponges ... you all are so awesome for following and commenting. Like I said, this is just a story I wanted to try out for myself and it might not be my best work, since I'm kind of unused to certain elements, so I apologize for any mistakes ... but it's extremely nice and fun to have a few people who diligently follow .. :).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or profit financially from this work.**

XX

They sat across the room from each other, a dozen feet or so of actual space between them and countless miles of invisible tension. At least that's how Deidara felt - annoyingly hot, bothered, and distracted, though he tried with all his might not to be.

They were seated with their respective partners nearby: Itachi looking cool and relaxed beside his huge, blue shark of a teammate; Deidara leaning forward in front of Sasori, intent, restless, and twitching, but no more so than usual.

He felt like it was more than usual, though. He had never been this self-aware of the placement of his hands or the precise angle he was using to cock his head or the manner in which he twisted the blue ring on right index finger. Everything felt a little off and he thought it must be glaringly obvious to everyone that he was struggling to focus. Could the other shinobi see the bruises on his hips and ass, or was it just his imagination?

He tried to avoid looking at Itachi at all costs, mostly because he couldn't possibly bear to see Itachi glance back at him lethargically or with unimpressed disdain, as he was sure to do. It would hurt too much, even though Dei knew in his mind that it was the right and rational response given the circumstances. Still, the sensitive artist steered clear of putting himself in that situation. But as he worked to keep his eyes glued to the filmy hologram of their Leader, Pein, he couldn't help feeling even more self-conscious and wondering if that seemed more suspicious.

_"Do I usually stare this intently at only one person? Don't I usually look around? Or play with my clay? Oh fuck, this is so stupid."_

They were going to start hunting Jinchuriki to obtain all of the nine tailed beasts. That's what the mysterious Rinnegan-eyed leader told them. It didn't seem like that big of an announcement, especially since there was little to no explanation of why this was the group's next course of action.

But every one of them was fully aware that Pein was setting into motion his master plan and it was obvious it had to do with world domination. What other reason could there be? For each, that held a different meaning as every single member had a unique and specific reason for participating in the Akatsuki.

Pein told them he would give them more details later and then the Jinchuriki were divided up. Deidara and Sasori were instructed to start with the One-Tail from Suna and Itachi and Kisame the Nine-Tails from Konoha, and then move onto the Four-tails.

Deidara finally let his eyes settle on the composed raven for just a second and was surprised to note the way his long, pale fingers were curling a little too tightly around the edge of his cloak. It was a small sign, one that would never be noticed except by someone who had studied the young man with obsessive diligence and had learned to read even the tiniest physical changes as they were only way of understanding the silent Uchiha.

But Deidara was immediately able to tell that something about this mission was causing emotional distress, although the exquisite, pale face didn't move at all.

That realization shocked him and sent him into a mental frenzy to figure out the source of this distress. Deidara knew it couldn't be the level of difficulty of the mission. There wasn't a single one of the tailed beast hosts that could hold a candle to the talented, brilliant Itachi, Deidara was positive.

"_But why then?_" Deidara couldn't stop his own concern from rising in response to capturing that miniscule insight into Itachi's feelings. As always, any pain Itachi experienced was not only mirrored in Deidara, but also magnified because of the artist's proclivity toward emotional extremities.

He was curious and that only served to make him feel frustrated that he wouldn't have a chance to speak about it with Itachi before the two-man cells all split up and left to do information gathering before putting concrete actions in motion.

Pein said that might take some time as they wanted to continue operating under the radar for the most part, which meant stealthy, well-thought out plans were better then abrasive, impulsive attacks.

After Pein's image disintegrated, the group members who were staying at the hideout began to disperse.

"Come on," Sasori said dully, standing to his feet.

Deidara glanced once more at Itachi and then followed suit. He was young and unpredictable, but also competent and professional and he wouldn't let any damn romantic feelings get in the way of performing to the best of his abilities, as usual.

"Guess we'll see you two in a while," Kisame said, picking up his large sword and securing it on his back.

"Shouldn't be too long. We'll have the One-tail in no time," Sasori answered, his voice never carrying any sort of inflection.

If either of them noticed the sexual tension between their younger teammates, who were avoiding eye contact, they didn't say anything.

Itachi was staring forward; his beautiful face looked like it was carved out of stone. Deidara simply busied himself making sure his pouch full of clay was secure on his slim hips, although he already knew it was.

"Hmph," Kisame responded, his mouth stretching into an arrogant smile at Sasori's insinuated challenge. He continued boldly, "We'll be meeting to extract the Nine-tails before we meet for the One-Tail."

Already fully cloaked and ready to go, Kisame and Itachi walked past the puppet master and his blonde subordinate, who was about to reach down and pick up his cloak when he was suddenly shoved back roughly. Itachi had swept past him, intentionally pushing his shoulder into the artist's.

Confused, Deidara let out the appropriate, indignant humph at what appeared to be just a normal display of arrogance on the part of the Uchiha.

But then, concealed by the meeting of their thick cloaks, he felt a slight squeeze on his wrist. It was extremely gentle and gone in a flash, but it made his flesh burn and sent thrills throughout his lithe body, nonetheless. Itachi didn't turn his head.

Deidara willed himself not to shiver at the delicate touch and instead scowled at the long black ponytail hanging from the back of Itachi's head as he and Kisame left the hideout.

Inside, however, his heart was doing all sorts of complicated acrobatics as it flipped from warm affection to dismal sadness at seeing Itachi for the last time for awhile and then over to discontent with himself for being so easily jumbled and distracted.

"Are you ready?" Sasori asked with an impatient sigh.

Deidara nodded, running his fingers gently over the place where Itachi's had just touched for an instant. He tried to sear into his brain the details of even that miniature, but no less intimate physical interaction with his beloved Uchiha.

"Let's get this over with," Sasori continued, settling into his puppet and heading out the door.

Deidara nodded vigorously. He couldn't agree more with his Danna, although he had his own secret reasons for wanting to hurry through this mission and get back to a mutual meeting of the members ... or maybe a meeting with just one in particular.

XXX

After Dei, Kisame was Itachi's favorite person in the Akatsuki, although the distance and nature between his positive feelings for the two had been greatly extended and twisted over the past few weeks as he fell deeper and deeper in ... he wouldn't finish the sentence to himself.

"_I don't love him,_" he thought with disproportionate disgust at the notion as he tried hard to hastily bury any inclination of admitting such a stupid thing.

The thing he liked most about his teammate was that Kisame was easy to understand and often had a one-track mind. He respected Itachi enough to let the younger Uchiha prodigy call the shots most of the time. And in the simplicity of their relationship, Itachi found it effortless to get comfortable. He never had to worry about Kisame, he never had to analyze Kisame, he never had to clean up after Kisame: it was a nice, clean deal with the shark nin.

Did he particularly like Kisame's style of fighting? Hell, no. As a secret pacifist, Itachi only harmed or killed others out of necessity, a trademark that the other members found particularly confusing, sometimes even humorous, even though Itachi chalked it up to not wanting to waste his time with people who weren't worth it. The same was not true of Kisame, who thirsted for violence and blood, and claimed his sentient sword did, as well.

"I have to keep Samehada fed," he would often joke with a vicious glint in his piercing eyes before finding every excuse to destroy.

So that vastly varying personality trait did cause Itachi some disgust and dislike at times, but he kept it hidden. And when they weren't being forced to engage in physical combat with other ninjas, the two got along just fine.

As they walked along a path, heading toward a small village outside Konoha where they could station themselves, they talked about their impending mission.

"So, what's the game plan?" Kisame asked, a devilish smile spreading across the face. He loved talking about missions. He loved getting to plan out how to do the most damage possible. One-track minded for sure, Itachi thought.

"We need to take our time. We aren't going to just waltz into the village, especially since, for all we know, Na-the One-tail Jinchuriki isn't even there. We'll do some reconnaissance work first."

Kisame nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Good idea. It's a good thing we were given this Jinchuriki since no one knows Konoha better than you."

Itachi knew Kisame just meant among the Akatsuki members, but he couldn't help thinking about how he really did know Konoha as well as or better than most everybody.

As a teenager he had spent hours in the archives, learning about the village's history and studying the nature and histories of all the clans. He could recite without mistake detail after detail, fact after fact, going back decades. He also knew particulars about the village elders - awful, horrifying, heartbreaking particulars that made him cringe.

"It will be an easy mission," he lied, not blinking an eye. It _could _be an easy mission. It was him and Kisame, for fuck's sake. But it wouldn't be. Or more precisely, it wouldn't even be successful. But he had a few weeks to figure out how to orchestrate and spin their failure. Especially since he already knew Naruto wasn't in the village but was actually off training with one of the famous Leaf Sannin.

Oh well. What Kisame didn't know wouldn't hurt him and it'd buy them some time.

"It better be," Kisame growled excitedly. "Nice, quick, and easy. After all, we can't have Sasori and his little bitch showing us up."

Itachi felt himself going ice cold then embarrassingly hot in a quick and strange response to Kisame's words. His belligerent defensiveness shocked him, but he couldn't help himself. How dare Kisame call Deidara that?!

For sure, everyone liked to tease Dei mercilessly because he was the youngest of the group and so, so easy to pick on, even though they all regarded the 17-year-old as equal - well, almost equal - in talent. But still ... ! "Twerp" was fine; "arrogant kid" was just true; ... but "bitch" went too far.

But then Itachi felt a slight throbbing in his groin when a good deal of blood rushed down there. He couldn't stop it, try as he might to control his hormones.

He hoped his cheeks were still their normal pale color as he thought with sinful delight, "_But he is a little bitch... a sweet, beautiful, fucking adorable little bitch."_

He remembered with thick, oozing pleasure how simultaneously precious and erotic Dei looked with his back arching as Itachi spanked his naughty little ass, and then pounded it hard. "_But he's my bitch! No one else ever has a right to call him that! How dare Kisame?!"_

Back at square one in a flash. Itachi didn't move a muscle beside swallowing. "Yeah, you're right."

"We sure do make up a strange hodgepodge of criminals," Kisame mused. "Luckily there are no truly bad eggs."

Itachi wanted let out a brittle laugh as he tried to figure out what kind of gauge exactly Kisame used to determine what made someone "bad."

"Most of them present a pretty good challenge, even," Kisame continued genially, just making small talk as they walked along. They had plenty of time to address the details of their mission. "Sasori, in particular, has a way of making me feel extremely competitive ... he's so quiet and threatening and thinks he's all that ... kind of like you, Itachi.."

Itachi wasn't sure there was a single person who _didn't_ make Kisame get all competitive, and he also wasn't sure which of the Akastuki members could be described as holding even a sliver of humility, but he said nothing.

"Hidan's just loud, but the fact that he's immortal gives him an interesting twist. Wouldn't mind going head to head with him. Kakuzu cares too much about money and collecting bounties without sharing the wealth with the organization. I'm not sure what I think about that. Deidara ..."

Itachi could feel those discombobulating feelings swelling inside him once more. He wanted to talk about Dei. But he also really, really didn't want to talk about Dei.

"Just an oddball. I think he's willing to sacrifice way too much for his stupid art. Probably going to die young, right?" Kisame asked with a knowing smile.

Itachi forced himself to nod.

They had had this conversation before: him, Sasori, and Kisame, when they had gone to retrieve some notorious terrorist bomber who hired himself out for "odd jobs" while keeping a very low, low profile after the whole mess in Iwakagure. Something about the kid had caught Pein's attention and he just had to have him.

Itachi thought back to that time. He hadn't admitted this to himself ever before, but he could now see that he had been a bit stricken with Dei's gorgeous looks even back then. Probably something about the combination of the flowing golden hair and flashing azure eyes ... and, of course, Dei's tight butt.

However, catching the trim, unruly blonde in his genjutsu had been way too easy and his quick assumption that Dei was shallow and worthless was a good way to cover up any sort of positive emotions that might have been triggered by the artist's refined, nearly supernatural beauty.

The three had simply stared, bored and lethargic, when Deidara had adamantly declared he would not be joining their organization.

He remembered Sasori's disdain: "You're telling me I have to be partners with _him_?"

They were so different, the two artists of the Akatsuki. Sasori firmly believed art should be something beautiful, resilient, and lasting, yet he was so impatient when it came to finishing their dirty work quickly. Dei was ... flighty, impulsive, spontaneous ... crazy. But obsessively committed to do anything to become a better artist. Those elements combined had made the three quite sure, even in their first introduction to the bomber, that Deidara would have a short life.

Itachi hated that thought now. He said nothing, letting his partner continue his analysis of each of the members. It was the only form of gossip they ever indulged in, mostly because they didn't really interact with other people or socialize in general.

While Kisame talked and Itachi gave perfunctory nods and uttered the occasional "hn," he let his mind wander ... dangerously. Even as he began to form a picture of Deidara in his mind, he knew he shouldn't. He shouldn't risk getting aroused. He shouldn't risk his feelings growing for Dei. He shouldn't risk missing Dei ... missing? Itachi couldn't believe how pathetic he was. He wasn't allowed to miss people, damn it!

But he kind of did. He knew it would be weeks before they saw each other. That shouldn't matter, right? This whole ... thing ... with Dei should be the most trivial, non-meaningful thing in his life. Although, Itachi couldn't help reprimanding himself for getting caught in the self-told lie that he was capable of such a thing.

Itachi didn't do meaningless. The reason he detached himself from all feelings and cared so little about everything and everyone was because his complex nature made him capable of caring too much. It had to be all or nothing.

He thought about that perfect face, those alluring, bright blue eyes, the slim body covered in luxurious, bronzed skin, and that undeniably winning grin. But he couldn't stop himself there, even though he could already feel blood pumping through his veins at an abnormally fast rate.

He thought of the way those slim legs looked so perfect when moonlight spilled over them, highlighting the toned muscles just right. He thought of how damn blood boiling, chest-tightening sexy it was to see and feel his hard cock slide between the curves of Dei's delicious ass and into his tight heat. He thought of the way being intimate with Dei had led him into a world that was full of the artist's cute little quirks, like the way he stuttered and blushed every time Itachi paid him a compliment, or the way he would laugh or grin in awkward situations, or the way he would bite on his plump lower lip whenever he was angry or aroused. Fuck, Dei was just cute. That was all there was to it. The quixotic, fun-loving, crazy little artist infected and affected Itachi so mysteriously and deeply. He had gotten under Itachi's skin one too many times and then just decided to stay there, Itachi concluded.

So where did this fall on the whole all or nothing spectrum? ... It didn't.

Now feeling incredibly hot and bothered but also confused and angry with himself once more, he snapped his mind shut on those stupid thoughts and images. No, no. He would not think of Dei naked, sweaty, and on all fours. No. He would not recall in perfect detail the affectionate way he had felt when Dei talked about the tragic things he had been through in his earlier life. No. He would not feel all giddy and juvenile remembering what it was like to mess around and tease with the teenager.  
No. He would not.

Itachi broke the silence that had started sometime - he wasn't sure when - and brought the conversation back around to their mission so they could hammer out details. Luckily, it consumed all discussion they had for the rest of the first day of their trip.

Night had fallen when they decided to stop and set up camp. Itachi felt surprisingly weary, despite the fact their journey had not been at all strenuous. He just wanted to sit down.

"_Odd_," he thought, letting his brows furrow as he dropped his cloak to the floor.

His head hurt. Why? It usually only did that when he had used his Kekkei Genkai too long or too intensely. He slowly ran his hand through his silky black hair as he tried to pinpoint a reason.

"You think it's safe to build a fire?" Kisame asked.

A cold, icy wind had indeed begun to blow as the sky turned darker, but Itachi hadn't realized he was cold.

He looked around vaguely. They were pretty far away from any villages and towns at this point and he couldn't sense anyone else around. He shrugged. "Sure ... why not?"

Turning away from Kisame, he began to pick up small sticks and dry brush to use as kindling. Suddenly, without warning, a sharp, piercing cough clattered its way through his body, leaving him bent over and breathless. Odd. So very, very odd.

Embarrassed, though he wasn't sure why ... it's not like he could control his coughs, right? ... he began to stand back up, only to be attacked by another severe coughing fit. He covered his mouth with his hand to try to mitigate the sound, as if that would help it seem less weird and annoying.

"You alright?" Kisame called out casually.

Slightly alarmed, but feeling like the worst of the random occurrence was over, Itachi got control of his voice, swallowed down a weird taste in his mouth, and muttered dully, "Yeah."

Reaching down to continue picking up pieces of wood, he had to stifle a gasp of shock. His pale, long fingers were spattered all over with bulbous drops of bright, red blood.


End file.
